Silver Fox
by Kesterpan
Summary: Life goes hinky for the team, not to mention hairy for their fearless leader. Tony and Gibbs go on a quest to set things right. A somewhat whimsical friendship fic with a little pre-slash thrown in for fun.
1. Chapter 1

_This started out as a vague speculation on my part that turned into a monster bunny - without my permission, I might add. I'm having a very busy and somewhat stressful time at work, so I decided I could use a more fun and whimsical story to work on before turning my attention back to the FIOverse. Updates will be unpredictable - could be fast or slow, depending on what's happening at work. Many thanks to gosgirl and HidingLight for the read on this chapter!_

1: Surprise

**Abby**

Abby loved her lab.

She loved the security of it, the knowledge that as soon as she stepped in that room, she was all-powerful and all-knowing. It was her bastion against chaos, her contribution to order in a disordered universe. The lab was where she always found the answers. She'd occasionally had her doubts, been met with challenges that initially shook her confidence, but she'd overcome them all.

The lab was where Gibbs came to her for the truth. They all did – the entire team. She'd never let them down yet, and every day when she set out from home to work, she promised herself that today wouldn't be the day it happened.

The previous night had been difficult. Carol had called, needing to talk about her nephew; his mother was being deployed again, and Fisher was old enough now to be angry about her leaving. Carol wasn't sure how to handle him. Abby'd helped as best she could, but this was one of those times when not being a mother put her at a disadvantage.

Peace descended on her as she entered her domain; she stood for a moment, smiling and drinking in her haven with all her senses, her arms stretched wide as she hugged her technological army in her mind. Sighing in satisfaction, she moved to the inner sanctum, only to be brought up short by the sight of Tony pacing back and forth, muttering to himself and running his hand through his hair.

Tony being in her lab this early in the day was strange enough; his agitation was even stranger. He usually had much better control than that.

Even more out of place, however, was the beautiful black and silver fox sitting in the middle of her desk, bushy tail curled around its legs, eyes following Tony's every move. Abby's quickly indrawn breath drew its attention, and the silky head turned toward her, piercing blue eyes seeing right to her soul.

"Gibbs?!"

**Tony and the Fox**

Tony whirled around at the sound of her voice.

"What?" He looked back at the fox, then at her, his expression panicked. "No, Abs. Not just no, hell no. Take it back!"

Abby stood still, staring at the fox, who stared right back, shifting his legs a bit as he got more comfortable. She finally managed to tear her gaze away from the fox, and frowned at Tony.

"Of course he's Gibbs! Look at his eyes. Those are _Gibbs' _eyes, Tony."

Tony stared at her, then marched over to stand by her side, staring at the fox. The fox calmly shifted his gaze to stare back at Tony, who swore softly when he saw the slightly amused look in the blue eyes.

"Okay, I admit, those look a lot like Gibbs' eyes. But come on, Abby! Gibbs can't just turn into a fox. There has to be some other explanation."

Abby raised her eyebrows at him. "Why'd you bring him here, if you really don't believe he's Gibbs?" She waited, but got no response as Tony stubbornly stared at the floor, his arms crossed over his chest.

Abby stepped forward, moving next to the fox and holding out a hand for him to sniff. The fox leaned forward, his nose moving delicately over her skin while holding her gaze in his. He then raised his head up to her face, licking her on the cheek.

"See! That's Gibbs! Gibbs kisses me on the cheek."

Tony dropped his head into his hands. "Abby, please. It's not possible."

Abby looked at the fox, who looked back. They rolled their eyes simultaneously. Abby giggled and sat on the desk next to the fox, who shifted over a bit to give her room and went back to staring at Tony.

"Where did you find him?"

Tony muttered something under his breath.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

He glared at her. "Basement. Under the boat."

"Uh huh. Anything else under there?"

Tony turned his glare to the fox. "Gibbs' clothes."

"Really?! So is he a boxers or briefs guy?"

The fox growled low in his throat. Abby suppressed a smile. "Forget I asked."

Tony just shook his head. "There has to be a logical explanation. Maybe it's just a fox who likes bourbon."

The fox sighed.

Abby smiled and reached up to scratch the fox behind the ears. Her eyes widened. "Wow. Do you think his human hair is this soft?" The fox tolerated the petting for about another millisecond, then let out a pained whine and stood, shaking his whole body like a wet dog to settle the hair back into place. She dropped her hand and looked at him thoughtfully. "How about we prove to him that you're Gibbs?"

The fox tilted his head and gazed at her. Abby grinned. "Show me what Gibbs brings me every day as a token of his esteem."

The fox stood, stretched, then jumped carefully off the table to the floor, trotting out of the inner room to the refrigerator. He stood in front of the appliance, then looked back at Tony and barked once.

Tony stared at him. "Kind of a high pitched bark for the bossman, don't ya think, Abs?"

The fox growled.

"That's more like it," Tony muttered. He strode to the fridge and opened the door. The fox put his front feet on the lowest shelf, stretched up, and grabbed a Caff-Pow in his jaws, holding it gingerly by the cup's rim. He backed up and out of the fridge, then trotted over to Abby, who reached down and took the cup from him.

"Thanks, Gibbs!" She drank a bit through the straw, then held the cup up next to her face, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head while smiling at Tony.

Tony looked from her to the fox, who was once again watching him with that piercing stare.

"Crap. It's Gibbs."


	2. Chapter 2

_Tremendous thanks for all the reviews and alerts! Special thanks to Nyre and other guest reviewers to whom I can't respond directly. This is an awfully quick update for me... absolute earliest I can get the next one out is next weekend and it might take longer than that. This one's unbetaed, so any remaining mistakes are all mine._

2: Discovery

**Finding the Fox**

Abby watched as Tony stared at the fox he'd finally admitted was Gibbs, dismay clearly visible on his face. She looked at Gibbs, who was looking back at Tony; if it was possible for a fox to look both compassionate and apprehensive at the same time, Gibbs was doing it very well.

"Oh, Tony!" She launched at him, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. "It's going to be alright. We'll get him back."

Tony returned the hug, then shifted his feet until she let go. "How, Abby? I don't know where to even start. And what's going to happen when Gibbs doesn't show up for work? We've got the Baldwin case to worry about. Do we tell Tim and Ziva?"

They both turned to look at Gibbs, who stared back at them. No one moved for several seconds, until Gibbs finally huffed out a breath and lay down on floor underneath the desk, pointedly no longer making eye contact with either of them.

Abby's brow furrowed as she looked at him, then cleared. "Call Timmy, tell him you're working with me and that Gibbs is following up on a lead. Give him and Ziva something to keep them occupied… we're going to do some research." She moved around the desk and sat down, typing furiously.

Tony looked dubious, but he pulled out his phone and made the call, hanging up on McGee's questions. He sighed heavily, looking at the fox again for a long moment before pulling a chair over to the desk. Gibbs got up and jumped onto Tony's lap, startling the man, and from there to the desk.

Abby grinned at him, then turned her chair to face Tony and looked at him intently. "All right. I need to know everything. Tell me how you found Gibbs."

Tony sighed, glanced at his boss, who appeared for once to be very interested in the story, then sat back and started talking.

"_Boss?"_

_Tony stepped in through the front door, shaking his head yet again at how easy it was to get into the house. "Hey, Gibbs! What's up with not answering the phone? Rule 3, remember?" _

_The front hall and living room were dark, so he walked into the kitchen. The door to the basement was open and the light was on. That meant the boat, again. Tony sighed. "Man needs a social life," he muttered, heading for the stairs. "I'm serious, Boss! That whole 'do as I say and not as I do' routine stopped working for me a very, very long time ago… you've met my dad!"_

_He started down the steps, pausing halfway when he couldn't see anyone. "Gibbs? You here?"_

_The sudden eruption of noise from under the boat startled him so badly that he drew his gun without thinking about it. There was a banging and scrabbling sound, with muted hissing, growling and higher pitched noises that reminded him of cats fighting. _

_Tony made his way carefully down the stairs, flinching at some of the louder sounds. There was still nothing in sight; he steeled himself as he approached the boat, then cautiously bent over to look underneath. _

_Fabric was whirling around under the boat, pant legs and sleeves flailing this way and that while something seemed to be caught up in it. There was a ripping sound, and suddenly a smallish to mid-size grayish-black dog – no, a fox – stood staring wildly around, its fur sticking up all over the place, its blue eyes wide. _

_The fox stared at Tony, who stared back. Then the fox moved toward Tony, but it was a hesitant, uncoordinated movement, and the fox stumbled several times before reaching Tony's side and leaning against him, shivering slightly. _

_Tony had no idea what to do. It crossed his mind that maybe the fox was rabid and he should shoot it, but something about the look in its eyes made him hesitate. The animal didn't look crazy, it looked confused and maybe a little scared. The fact that a fox would approach him for comfort was surprising, but Tony decided to take it at face value; he holstered his gun, and felt the fox relax against his leg._

"_Easy now," Tony said quietly. "You just, um… yeah. I'm gonna take a look around."_

_He straightened up and surveyed the basement. Open bottle of bourbon, check. Jar containing a small amount of said bourbon, check. Small pile of mixed nails and screws next to the jar, check. Tools laid out by the boat, check. A new pile of sawdust near the tools, check. Gibbs' clothes under the boat, check. Gibbs himself under the boat, no check._

_Tony stared at the pile of jeans and shirts, then crouched down further and went to take a look. Gibbs' jeans, a t-shirt with a long sleeved shirt underneath it, check. "That's Gibbs' stuff, alright. No one else would dress like that. So where the hell is he, and why did he leave his clothes here?"_

_There were no signs of a struggle, except for the struggle the fox had gone through to get out of the clothes. Tony turned to look back at the fox, who was carefully walking around, apparently watching his own legs moving. Almost as if he was figuring out how to walk… _

"_No." The word was forceful, definitive, and the fox looked up at Tony right away._

"_This is crazy." Tony moved out from under the boat. "There has to be another explanation. There's a perfectly logical reason why Gibbs is apparently naked and nowhere to be found, and why there's a fox in his clothes. I just have to figure out what the hell that is."_

_The fox walked over to Tony and sat down carefully in front of him, looking up at him with the same blue eyes Tony'd looked into a million times before. _

"_You are NOT Gibbs."_

_The fox snorted and let out a peculiar whine. The sound cut off quickly, though, and the fox's ears drooped sideways as it sighed and moved next to Tony again._

"_It's not possible. This is some sort of weird prank. Not really Gibbs' style, though… Ziva and Tim. They put him up to this. Or they took advantage of him being out for the night… maybe he's got a new redhead." Tony looked around the room again, ignoring the low grumble coming from the fox. "Okay, that's an awful lot of trouble to go to, and I'm surprised they'd treat any animal like that, stuffing him into Gibbs' clothes… and how did they know I'd decide to come over in the middle of the night to talk about the case?"_

_The fox whined again. Tony looked down at it… at Gibbs' eyes in a fox's body. _

"_Alright. Let's say, for the sake of argument, you're Gibbs. Which you aren't." Tony paused and stared at the fox, who stared back. "What the hell, Boss? Who gets turned into a fox? Are you a werefox or something? Wait – it's not a full moon. Oh, god, now I sound like Abby."_

_Tony sat up straight, thinking hard. "Abby. That's it. If anyone knows enough crazy stuff to figure out where you came from, it's Abby. And she can use her science stuff to figure out how to get rid of the crazy stuff." Tony nodded decisively; get to Abby - that was the solution. He looked down at the fox, who looked up at him. "Alright. Ground rules. You don't bite me. You cooperate while we sneak you into the building." Tony closed his eyes; for a moment there he could have sworn the fox nodded at him. "Great. I'm talking to a fox who's impersonating Gibbs. I'm going crazy. Damn it, Boss, where are you? I need one of those head slaps."_

_The fox snorted again, then began walking around some more. His coordination seemed to be improving. _

"_Can you manage the stairs?" Tony asked, not entirely seriously._

_The fox looked at the stairs, then headed for the bottom step and tried to move his legs to start climbing. Tony watched for a moment; after the third failed attempt to coordinate hind legs with front ones, Tony gave up and moved forward, reaching down to gather the fox into his arms. "Wow, you're heavier than you look." He moved quickly up the stairs, a part of him admiring the softness of the fox's fur. "Can kinda understand why people want to make coats out of this stuff, B-" He shook his head. "You are NOT Gibbs." _

_The fox rested his head on Tony's arm and sighed._

Tony sat forward and looked seriously at Abby. "Did that help?"

Abby pursed her lips. "Maybe a little." She turned to look at Gibbs. "Did you fall asleep under the boat?" Gibbs nodded, which looked rather strange. "You were still human when you fell asleep, weren't you?" Another nod. "Tony woke you up, right? And you freaked out." Gibbs hesitated, but nodded again, his ears pinning back a bit as he did so.

Abby smiled and reached out to scratch behind his ears again; Gibbs ducked. "It's okay to freak out, you know. Most people would."

Tony didn't say anything; he just watched the exchange closely.

Abby turned to him, letting her hand fall back down to the desk. "How'd you get him in the building?"

Tony shrugged. "I wore a long trench coat through security, carried a bunch of files in one arm… Gibbs hid in the coat, kinda gripping on with his claws."

Abby grinned. "That's so cute!"

"Huh?"

"You were snuggling!"

Tony and Gibbs glanced at each other, then quickly looked away. "Abby…"

"No, that's okay. You guys can continue living in denial."

"Again I say, huh?"

Abby rolled her eyes, then shook her head. "Never mind." She pushed her chair back to its original spot in front of the computer. "I have work to do. Gibbs can stay here and hang out; you get back up to Tim and Ziva. Can you keep them from asking too many questions?"

Tony nodded. "Call my desk phone soon. We'll pretend you're Gibbs; that should throw them off."

"Cool! I can do my Gibbs voice. I feel like I'm an undercover agent or something… do you guys feel like this all the time? Cause it's an awesome rush. A little subtle, but enough to make a statement." She popped out of her chair and pushed on Tony's chest. "Go on, get upstairs. Gibbs will be fine here. We'll work on a communication system, and he can keep improving his coordination, although he's doing pretty well already. Do you think all his Marine savvy helped with that? Never mind, you need to go. I'll call you when I find something. Oh, and bring him something to eat!"

Tony left the lab and headed for the elevator, thrilled to be able to experience normal for a while. He glanced back into the lab after he stepped into the compartment. Abby was typing furiously and apparently talking to Gibbs, who was watching Tony as the doors closed.

**Answers**

It was after 8 p.m. when Tony jogged down the stairs into Gibbs' basement. Abby was sitting on the floor against the workbench, with Gibbs curled up near her, just out of petting distance. Tony set the pizza box and the bag balancing on it down on the bench, along with two beers he fished out of his coat pockets. Gibbs watched, growling low in his throat when Tony's eyes met his.

"Hey, we caught a break in the case! What did you want me to do, send Ziva and McGee out on their own to deal with a Marine who's already killed two people?"

Gibbs stared at him for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

"That looks weird, Boss."

Gibbs just turned to look at Abby, who was typing away on her laptop.

Tony popped the cap off one of the beers and held it out to her. She took it without looking and sipped at it, still focused on the screen.

"How'd you get a signal here?"

"Leeching off the neighbors," she replied happily. "It's for a good cause."

Tony shrugged. "Whatever works." He dug into the bag, pulled out a styrofoam carton, opened it, and set it down on the floor. "Rare meat, Boss. Went to that deli you like, got a hamburger without anything on it."

Gibbs got up moved to the container, sniffing at it for a moment before starting to eat.

Tony looked back at Abby. "How'd you sneak him out?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "Draped him around my neck like a scarf. He kept his eyes closed and played dead. Security guard thought it was pretty cool."

Tony shook his head. "I'm surprised he went for it."

"It was that or put a collar and leash on him."

Gibbs looked up from his dinner, laid his ears back, and showed a glint of very white teeth.

Abby pouted. "Come on, Gibbs, it's not like I tried it! And you would never bite me… would you?" She held out her hand; Gibbs leaned forward and licked it once before going back to the food.

Tony downed a third of his beer, stuffed half a slice of pizza in his mouth, then joined Abby on the floor. "You said on the phone that you found something."

She nodded. "Yeah. I think I got it figured out. Good thing it was a slow day today, 'cause I don't think I could have focused on anything but this." She looked thoughtfully at Gibbs. "I mean, Gibbs as a silver fox is really cool, but I want the real thing back."

Tony nodded. "Me too. Ziva's getting pissed about being kept out of the loop about what he's doing."

Abby reached out and smacked his arm. "That's not the only reason why you want Gibbs to be human again!"

Tony sighed and looked down at his beer, picking at the label. "Of course not, Abs. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this, that's all." He watched Gibbs finish his dinner, then looked at Abby. "So, what did you find?"

"A tree spirit."

"A what?" Tony glanced at Gibbs, who was now sitting up very straight and watching Abby intently.

"A Native American tree spirit. I was looking for legends about people turning into animals in their sleep… that's not as common as you might think. In mythology, I mean."

"Good qualifier."

"I thought so. Anyway, it turns out that there are some shared themes about tree spirits, and the powerful ones are able to do things like turn people into animals as a punishment for wrongdoing."

Gibbs grumbled, and Tony lifted an eyebrow. "What did Gibbs do wrong? And where's this tree spirit?"

Abby pointed at the boat.

"You're not serious."

She nodded. "Yeah, I think I am. For the tree spirit to be powerful enough to do this to Gibbs, he had to be sleeping close to it."

"So, what… this tree spirit doesn't want to live in a boat?"

Abby shook her head. "I don't think it's that. The fact that Gibbs uses hand tools probably makes any self-respecting tree spirit happy. I think it's where the tree came from that's the problem."

"Okay."

Abby clicked a few keys on her laptop, then swung it around, showing them both a picture of a mature tree. "This is a spruce tree, and that's what Gibbs is using for this boat."

"He learned how to talk?"

Gibbs leaned over and poked Tony hard in the arm with his nose.

"Ow! Watch it, Boss, that thing's pointy!" Tony rubbed his arm. "I think I prefer the head slaps."

Abby grinned. "No, he didn't learn how to talk in this form. But we settled on a good old-fashioned code; one yip for no, two for yes."

"Makes sense." Tony scrutinized the picture. "So, we're dealing with the spirit of the spruce tree that Gibbs is using to build his boat."

"Not of the tree, in the tree. The spirit lived in the tree, and it wants to go home."

"And turning Gibbs into a fox is going to make that happen how?"

Abby shrugged. "Motivation?"

Tony laughed and shook his head. "Alright. So how do we find out where this tree came from?"

"Already done." Abby smirked at him. "Gibbs showed me where he keeps his receipts for his wood-working. I called the lumber yard, and they said the tree originally came from a stand of spruce about nine hundred meters up Mount Washington. I did some more digging… logging isn't legal there. So whoever cut down this tree to sell it basically stole it."

"Some random guy looking to make a buck cuts down a tree where he shouldn't, Gibbs buys the lumber to make a boat, and ends up a fox in D.C. who's supposed to bring a tree spirit back to New Hampshire?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Tony drank the rest of his beer and reached for another slice of pizza. Abby and Gibbs watched while he ate. He chewed methodically, his eyes unfocused while he thought. He finally swallowed the last of the pizza focused on Abby.

"How, exactly, does a fox bring a tree spirit to New Hampshire from D.C.?"

"That's the interesting part!" Abby leaned forward excitedly, her hands moving as she spoke. "Gibbs needs to take a piece of the spruce tree with him; it doesn't have to be big, just enough for the spirit to hitch a ride. We've already figured out which planks are from the tree in question, so all we have to do is cut off a piece. Then he goes to Mount Washington, buries the wood, and plants a spruce seedling in that same stand of trees, making sure the roots touch the wood. After that, he should turn back into the Gibbs we know and love."

Tony stared at her for a moment with narrowed eyes, then looked at Gibbs, who had that slightly amused expression again. "And how, exactly, does a fox travel from D.C. to New Hampshire while carrying a block of wood?"

Abby frowned at him. "I would have thought that was obvious, Tony. You have to take him there!"

"Me?! Why me? Why can't you go? I hate hiking."

Abby pouted a bit. "I'd like to go, Tony, really. But Gibbs is going to need protection. There's a big black market fur trade, and silver fox is in demand. He needs you on his six. Oh!" Her eyes sparkled suddenly. "Think of it like a fairy tale… Gibbs has been transformed, and he needs you to change him back! You're like his champion, Tony!"

Tony glared at her. "Fairy tales usually include princesses. Ow!" He rubbed his arm again and transferred his glare to the fox. "Come on, Boss, cut that out!"

Abby's expression turned a bit wicked. "At least it's not one of those fairy tales that require you to kiss the princess… well, prince, in this case, to break the spell."

The glare moved back to Abby, who grinned at him, completely unrepentant. Tony shook his head, then looked at Gibbs. "No offense, Boss, but I don't really feel like kissing you right now."

Abby's eyes widened. "Does that mean you feel like kissing him at other times?"

"What?! Abby!"

Gibbs tilted his head and looked at Tony, his expression clearly curious. Tony pointed at him. "Stop that." He turned to Abby. "So all I really need to do is take a piece of wood, get a spruce seedling and some of Gibbs' clothes, then drive him up to Mount Washington, go for a walk, plant the seedling, and then Gibbs is back to normal and we come home."

Abby wrinkled her nose. "I'm not sure it'll be that simple, Tony."

"Of course not."

"Everything I've read about tree spirits indicates that they need to see some form of penance… I think you'll need to do some serious hiking and camping… more than just a day trip."

Tony shook his head. "No way. I'm a city boy. I don't know anything about camping and all that… what about McGee?"

Abby shook her head. "You're Gibbs' second-in-command, Tony, and his friend. Plus, you found him. I think it has to be you."

Tony groaned and dropped his head in his hands. "This sucks."

The room was silent for a moment, then Tony felt a pressure against his leg. He raised his head to see the fox now lying on the floor next to him, his head resting on Tony's leg.

Abby stared at him. "How can you turn him down, Tony? Gibbs just said please!"

Tony stared down Gibbs. The blue eyes certainly had a questioning look in them. Tony took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I've got your six, Boss."

Gibbs sighed quietly, and tension Tony hadn't really noticed before left his body. Tony was tempted to reach out and stroke the soft fur, but he thought better of it.

They all sat quietly for a moment, then Tony straightened up suddenly. "How the hell are we going to get the time off? I can't just go to Vance and say, 'excuse me sir, but Gibbs and I need to take about a month off to go hiking in New Hampshire to make a tree spirit happy, and Gibbs is sorry he can't put in an official request, but he's a fox and can't type."

Gibbs got up on all fours, and they all stared at each other. Then Abby shrugged. "You're going to have to tell him the whole story."

Tony and Gibbs looked at each other, then let out almost identical groans of dismay.

_Author's Note: I did some research; there are tree spirits in Native American mythology, but I don't know if they'd ever turn people into foxes or any other animal. I also don't know what kind of wood Gibbs uses to build his boats, but I did a little more research and found that wood like spruce and cedar are supposed to be good for boat-building because they take glue well without having the oils to repel the epoxy and are often relatively knot-free. A little more research gave me the info about spruces growing in the White Mountains… and no, I don't really think someone could cut down a big tree in a national park and get away with it._


	3. Chapter 3

_Special thanks to Lauratrekkie, ncis fan, kbotr, Nyre, and the other guest reviewers to whom I couldn't reply directly. I'm going to try to stick to this Sunday posting schedule... I have Monday off next week, so if might wait until then for chapter 4. Unbetaed, as usual, so any mistakes are mine. And the cat and pug mentioned in this chapter do exist._

3: Vance

**Getting Back In**

Tony pulled his car into the space next to Abby's, taking a deep breath as he shut off the ignition. They'd stayed in the basement late into the night, talking over how to deal with the director. Gibbs had contributed to the conversation through a series of growls, barks, and whines; Tony thought it rather disconcerting that he was finding it easier to get the gist of what his boss was trying to say.

Both he and Abby had spent the night at the house… Tony on the couch, Abby in Gibbs' bed. Neither one was quite sure where Gibbs slept, or if he did at all. Despite Tony's fervent wishes and almost-prayers, Gibbs was still a fox when they'd gotten up in the morning.

The simple part of the plan was to get Gibbs back into the building, the same way Abby had gotten him out. Tony insisted on going in with them, hoping to smooth over any problems that might come up. They were parked in a section of the garage with only limited video coverage; Tony got out of his car and moved to stand by the trunk of Abby's, watching the camera out of the corner of his eye and signaling Abby when it panned away from their location.

She opened the rear door of her car and crouched down. Gibbs draped himself around her neck; Abby straightened up, and Gibbs adjusted himself a bit then went limp. Tony handed Abby her bag, and the three of them set off for the secure entrance.

The security guard on duty was an outgoing, friendly guy around McGee's age named Hank. He had a harmless soft spot for Abby, which Tony figured would make getting in pretty easy.

Hank's eyes widened as he saw Abby approaching. "That is the coolest scarf I've ever seen."

Abby smiled broadly. "Thanks, Hank! How's your daughter? And the baby?"

Hank waved her through the metal detector, his eyes glued to Gibbs. "Julie's fine, thanks. And Max is just starting on solid food. Hey… did that scarf just breathe?"

Tony froze. Gibbs went even more boneless, if that were possible.

Abby laughed. "Sure did! Have you seen these before? There's a cat that breathes and purrs and moves a bit, and a pug sleeping in a bed that breathes too, looks so real, I swear."

Hank reached out and poked Gibbs in the side. "That is so cool. It's warm!"

Tony stared at Gibbs, willing him to stay still.

Abby reached up and stroked Gibbs' tail. "You should get one for Julie. I bet she'd love it."

Hank nodded and poked Gibbs again. Tony could just see one of Gibbs' paws twitch.

"Could I buy this one off you? Julie loves dogs."

Abby laughed. "Sorry… this one's kind of special. But I bet she'd love the pug. And they may have others."

Hank reached out to poke Gibbs again. Tony moved through the metal detector without putting his gun in the basket first; the alarm went off immediately, making Hank drop his arm and move back to his station.

"Whoops, my bad! Sorry, Hank." Tony stepped back through the arch, put his gun and various other items in the basket, and went through again. Hank shook his head and he handed the basket to him.

"You don't usually make a mistake like that, Tony."

Tony flashed him a big smile. "Got distracted by Abby's latest toy, I guess."

Hank looked toward the door where Abby had disappeared. "I know it… that's the coolest thing."

"Yeah… awesome." Tony took off after Abby, following her down to her lab.

**The Director**

Tony reached the inner room of the lab just as Gibbs was sliding off Abby's neck and on to the desk. The fox shook himself vigorously, almost falling off the table, then turned to glare at both humans.

Abby pouted slightly. "Gibbs! How could I know he was gonna do that? And it wouldn't be like me to be all 'get away, don't touch!'"

Tony just raised both hands in the air and shook his head, meeting Gibbs' eyes squarely.

Gibbs huffed out a breath, clearly exasperated. He slumped down on the desk, grumbling quietly.

Abby and Tony looked at each other; Tony sighed, while Abby raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly. "No time like the present?"

Tony looked at Gibbs, who refused to look back, then over at Abby. "Might as well – before this day gets any worse."

Abby made the call up to Vance's office, asking that he come down to the lab. She hung up and turned to Tony. "He'll be here in a few minutes."

Tony nodded. "I wonder how long it will take him to fire me and promote McGoo to my desk."

"Tony! No one's getting fired. It's not like we did this to Gibbs."

"No… but telling Vance that Gibbs is a fox isn't going to set us up for promotions either. More likely just a psych eval."

"Ye of little faith." Abby went about turning on various machines while Tony just leaned against the desk and stared morosely at Gibbs, who still wouldn't look back at him, although the twitching of his ears indicated he knew very well where Tony was and what he was doing.

It wasn't even ten minutes later that Vance strode into the lab. "Ms. Sciuto?"

Abby popped out from around Major Mass Spec. "Wow, that was fast!"

Vance looked at her, his eyebrows climbing up his forehead. "Not often someone around here actually asks me to show up. Figured I wouldn't waste the opportunity." He glanced around the room. "DiNozzo," he greeted. Then his eyes fell on the fox. "What the hell is that?"

Abby bounced over to the desk. "Gibbs."

Vance stared at her. "Why did Gibbs bring a dog to the office?"

She shook her head. "No, I mean it _is_ Gibbs."

Vance lowered his head slightly and looked at her from under his eyebrows. "Really."

Abby nodded. "Yup. He's a silver fox. Now, I know it's hinky," she moved over to the desk and sat next to Gibbs, who was sitting up and watching Vance warily, "but it's true. Ask Tony."

Vance turned his head slightly to look at Tony. "Well, DiNozzo? Care to shed some light on this situation?"

Tony straightened up and walked a few steps forward. "It's true, sir. I found him like this two nights ago, in his basement. We," he continued, waving between Abby and himself, "figured out why he's been transformed, and how to get him back. It's going to mean substantial time away from the office, though, so we knew we had to read you in."

Time seemed to stretch while Vance stared at Tony, then at the fox, then back at Tony. "Agent DiNozzo," he finally began, then paused. Tony winced. "I don't know what office pool you've got going that would entice you to try to pull this on me, but I hope it's a hell of a payoff, 'cause you're gonna need that cash when you're out of a job."

Gibbs growled low in his throat. Vance turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.

Abby moved forward. "Director! It really is Gibbs! We can prove it."

Vance looked at her indulgently. "Have you found a DNA match?"

Abby froze. "I can't believe I didn't think of that." Her eyes narrowed. "Would it be his DNA, because his body changed into a fox? Or would it be a combination of fox and human?"

Gibbs yipped once, the sound trailing off into a growl.

"Huh," Vance commented, "sort of sounds like Gibbs."

Abby refocused. "It is! Go ahead, tell him to do something. Anything! You'll see."

Vance sighed. "Should have taken the day off," he muttered. "Fine. Gibbs," he turned to the fox, "I want you to jump off that table, go out into the main room, do a figure eight underneath the central computer stand – twice – and then get back up on the table."

Gibbs stared at him, growling softly.

"Boss," Tony said quietly.

Gibbs looked at him, then sighed and jumped off the table. Vance followed him as he trotted out into the main lab and executed two perfect figure eights. The director stepped back as the fox returned to the inner room and jumped back up on the table, turning to face him.

Vance moved forward slowly, staring at the fox. "Okay," he said slowly. Then, "Bark once for each time you've been divorced."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, then barked distinctly three times.

Vance reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a toothpick. He stuck it between his teeth and chewed on it vigorously. His eyes narrowed. "That op we did in MTAC two weeks ago… bark once for each syllable in the Russian operative's full name."

Gibbs blinked at him, then lowered his head, thinking. After a moment he looked up at Vance and barked slowly and carefully, a total of nine times. He looked at Vance expectantly.

Vance let the toothpick drop to the floor. "I'll be damned," he said softly. "It's Gibbs."

Tony sighed quietly and dropped his head, while Abby clapped her hands and bounced a bit on the balls of her feet.

"I think I need a drink," Vance said, still staring at Gibbs.

Abby trotted over to the refrigerator and grabbed a Caff-Pow, running back over to the director and holding it out to him. He looked over at her and then at the drink. "Um… I'll pass. Thanks."

It didn't take them long to give Vance the basics about their discovery of the tree spirit and what needed to be done to return Gibbs to human form. Now that he'd accepted Gibbs was the fox, he took to the idea of a tree spirit relatively easily, although the way Gibbs shifted and glared, it was clear that the fox thought the entire process was taking too long.

Vance shifted his weight from one foot to the other and scratched the back of his head while he looked at Gibbs. "Maybe we ought to leave him like this. Might make my life easier."

Gibbs snarled, showing teeth, and leapt off the desk at Vance. Tony grabbed the fox out of midair without even thinking, spinning him around and moving several steps back from the director, holding on tightly.

The humans in the room were silent; Gibbs was growling and struggling a bit in Tony's hold, staring furiously at Vance. Tony held him close with one arm, reaching up to rub the back of Gibbs' neck with the other until the growling stopped and Gibbs finally relaxed in his arms.

Neither Vance nor Abby said a word, just watched as Tony calmed Gibbs down. When Gibbs sighed, turned his gaze away from the director and rested his head on Tony's shoulder, Vance and Abby exchanged glances and slight smiles. "Something you want to share with the class, DiNozzo?"

Tony looked at Vance, his expression confused. "Um, what?"

Abby suppressed a smile, while Vance just shook his head. Tony walked over to the desk and set Gibbs down on it; the fox sat at attention, wrapped his tail around his legs, and stared at a spot just to the right of Vance's face.

The director took the stance for what it was and moved forward. "Agent Gibbs," he stated formally, "I recognize that what you're going through is tremendously stressful, and due to the extreme nature of these circumstances, I'm willing to overlook your egregious breach of protocol." He moved forward and bent over a bit so that his face was right in front of Gibbs'. The fox continued to stare straight ahead. "It _never_ happens again," Vance concluded.

Gibbs nodded once.

Vance straightened up and stepped back. "Besides," he continued in a more relaxed tone, "the report would be a bitch to write." He tilted his head to one side. "No pun intended."

Gibbs shot him a mild glare. Abby spoke up, "Actually, a female fox is called a vixen."

Vance smiled at her. "Thank you, Ms. Sciuto."

Abby smiled back.

Tony exhaled and slumped back against the desk. "So… what do we do now?"

Vance looked at him, then at Abby. "You two are sure you're right about this tree spirit and going to New Hampshire?"

Abby nodded vigorously. Tony waved his hands aimlessly in her direction.

"Right." Vance pulled out another toothpick and chewed it for a moment. "Here's what we'll do. As of yesterday, Gibbs has been pulled for a delicate long-term undercover operation. He's already left to get established. DiNozzo, you'll be joining him as soon as you get up to speed with McGee on what you need to know to camp and hike in the White Mountains. We're heading into fall, so it's going to get colder there quicker than here… you've got to get up to speed on equipment, safety, and anything else McGee thinks you need to know. He's your expert, given his Scouting history. Get me a list of expenses, I'll cover everything. No details about the mission other than general location; that way if he traces your credit cards or the GPS in your car, he won't have any need to be suspicious. You'll contact me directly with updates when you can."

Abby raised her hand. Vance nodded in her direction.

"Yes, Ms. Sciuto, I'll keep you informed. But DiNozzo is not to contact you directly; if McGee decides to check your phone records, he might come sniffing around for information. I'll send him back to the Cyber Unit for the interim, and I'll loan Ziva out to Balboa's team, that'll give him a fourth while Agent Richter is out with that broken leg. I'll brief them myself, impress on them that your mission is need to know, and they don't. Ms. Sciuto, I want you to do more research into Native American mythology, make sure there's nothing we've overlooked."

They all stared at him. He grinned suddenly. "You didn't think I made director just because of my charm and good looks, did you?" He turned to look seriously at Gibbs. "DiNozzo's in charge until you get back here and Dr. Mallard tells us you're in good health. You listen to him, got it?"

Gibbs nodded once. Satisfied, Vance turned his attention to Abby. "Show me this research you've done."

They headed into the main lab. Tony looked down at Gibbs. "You okay, Boss?"

Gibbs looked up at him, the look in his eyes a mix of emotions that Tony couldn't quite interpret. The fox sighed and lowered his head, folding his ears back and bumping Tony's arm gently with the top of his head before leaning against him.

Tony reached up and rubbed gently behind the fox's ears. "I've got your six, Boss. We'll get this done."

Gibbs just sighed again and closed his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

_Many thanks to everyone who has alerted and reviewed – especially those of you who weren't sure about this story line but tried it anyway! Special thanks to guest reviewers Nyre, AmySmoken71, lol, Lauratrekkie, ranma, CindyB and others… your feedback is most appreciated! Unbetaed, as usual, so all mistakes are mine. The usual disclaimer that I don't own NCIS applies, as always… I make no profit from any of this, except perhaps in trying to become a better writer._

_Super special thanks to gosgirl for helping to give this story more emotional depth through our wonderful email discussions!_

4: Preparation

**Three Days Later**

Tony fidgeted as he sat in the conference room, repressing the urge to sigh loudly as McGee opened up yet another contour map of the White Mountains. He'd already endured two days of lectures and lessons about hiking safety, pitching tents, building fires, recognizing bear scat, and how to keep his clothes as fresh as possible. The shopping hadn't been so bad, he reflected, and if he were honest with himself, he actually liked the rugged look he sported with the hiking boots, the flannel-lined jeans, and the Gore-Tex jacket.

He leaned forward and pretended to be paying attention as McGee pointed out important topographical information. The worst part was going to be carrying all this stuff on his back; Gibbs in fox form wasn't going to be up to carrying much of anything. Abby had said she was going to take care of some of that, but Tony didn't have the slightest idea what she meant.

Tony sat back and watched morosely as McGee brought out yet another trail guide. The former Scout insisted on being as thorough as possible, and was therefore going to cover every single one of the mountains with Tony, since whenever McGee asked for details of their trip, Tony would only say "Need to know, McCurious."

McGee was currently discussing Mount Jefferson, so Tony pretended to pay attention; he also pretended he didn't know Ziva was lurking around the corner of the open door. Most of his thoughts were taken up with what might be going on at Gibbs' house.

They hadn't pushed their luck by sneaking Gibbs into the building again after their meeting with Vance. Abby was worried that if either Ziva or McGee saw him, they'd realize something was really hinky. Tony wasn't inclined to give either one of them that much credit, but he did agree that they absolutely couldn't let Jimmy Palmer anywhere near the fox. Jimmy was too much of an animal lover not to pay close attention to such an unusual dog, and Abby was sure he'd realize the fox's eyes were human, not canine. At least Ducky was overseas visiting family, so they didn't have to worry about dodging him. Vance had given Abby time off to stay with Gibbs; she was spending most of it at the house, continuing to research tree spirits and the area through which they'd be hiking.

"Tony!"

Tony sat up quickly. "What?"

McGee was frowning at him. "You're not listening. Vance just about chewed my ear off about making sure you're ready for this, and then on top of that tells me I can't ask any questions about the op. The least you could do is pretend to be paying attention."

"I _am_ pretending," Tony grumbled.

McGee rolled his eyes. "You're doing a lousy job of it." He folded his arms and sat down on the conference room table. "First Gibbs disappears with no warning. Then Director Vance reassigns me and Ziva, and says you and Gibbs are going to be on an undercover op that involves hiking and camping in the White Mountains." McGee's brow furrowed. "And that part makes no sense. Why you and not me? I could be with Gibbs already; I don't need training."

Before Tony could open his mouth to respond, Ziva moved around the corner. "And why is Gibbs himself not teaching you what you must know? Why is he gone without a word? Why are we not allowed to help keep the two of you safe? Are we not a team?"

Tony stared at her for a moment, then sighed. "Need to know, Ziva. I'm sorry, but you don't."

She glared at him. "This is not right. And I do not for a moment believe that Abby is truly on emergency leave to help her brother."

McGee nodded. "I have to agree with Ziva on that one, Tony. Abby hasn't been in touch in days. That's not like her."

Tony stared at them both; he actually did feel bad about keeping them in the dark. Gibbs had made it clear that he didn't want them to know about his current state, so Tony didn't really have a choice. "Look," he began, "Gibbs… he's incommunicado already. Can't talk to me. So he can't teach me right now."

Ziva frowned. "But you will be joining him, yes? He is not being put into a dangerous situation without backup?"

Tony shook his head. "No. I promise you, I'll be on his six before the day is out."

"I still do not understand –" Ziva was abruptly cut off by her cell phone's insistent buzzing. She muttered a curse in Hebrew and pulled it off her belt. "I must go – we have a case." She moved closer to Tony, her expression changing from annoyed to worried. "Please, let us know you are alright when you can."

Tony nodded. "Promise."

Then she was gone, and Tony turned to look at McGee, who stared at him, expressionless. "Abby's in this up to her neck, isn't she?"

Tony sighed, then nodded. "She's researching for us. That's not a slight at you, Tim. It's more her area than yours."

McGee's stance relaxed a bit at the sound of his first name. "That's not really very promising."

Tony let out a small laugh. "You could say that."

"Look, Tony – I don't mean this in a bad way or anything, but why you and not me? I've camped loads of times… you never have, have you?"

Tony's eyes narrowed as he looked at his probie. Then he sat forward, leaning on the table. McGee mimicked him automatically. "Tim… do you really want to share a small tent with the Boss?"

McGee grimaced. "Just one tent? Why?"

Tony shook his head. "Can't tell you. It's necessary, though. And he likely won't have much coffee."

"I may actually feel sorry for you." McGee's tone was sarcastic; he shook his head and started gathering up all the maps and guides, stacking them in the box Tony was going to take with him. Tony watched the abrupt, angry movements, then stood and put his hand on McGee's arm, making the younger man freeze in place.

"Tim… I get it. You feel like you're being passed over again."

McGee looked up into Tony's eyes. "You gonna tell me I'm not?"

Tony shook his head again. "Nope. Can't do that. But… look, I can't give you the details. I can tell you one thing, though… I may not be able to bring Gibbs back. There's a chance – just a _chance_ – that things won't go as expected, and we'll lose him."

McGee's mouth opened, but no sound came out. He cleared his throat, his eyes darting around the room, then coming to rest again on Tony's face. "Tony… that's… does Abby know?"

Tony shrugged. "Yeah, she knows. But you know Abby, she's insisting on being optimistic." That was certainly true. Abby didn't feel as though anything could go wrong with the simple ritual to return the tree spirit to its homeland. Bury the wood, plant the sapling, Gibbs would be back to normal. Simple. Tony just wished he could be so sure.

McGee remained silent for a moment. "Tony… that's not fair to you. If you have to watch Gibbs die…"

Tony closed his eyes briefly. That was the one thing of which Abby wasn't entirely sure… if this took too long, or didn't work, would Gibbs lose his sense of self and his humanity, and become just a fox? The mythology seemed to say no, but Tony could be pessimistic enough to doubt that… and he could tell Gibbs was worried too.

"Are _you_ in danger?"

Tony opened his eyes, and felt better for seeing the open concern on McGee's face. He shook his head. "No, actually, I'm not. This is really about Gibbs… I'm just the backup." _And the pack mule. _"Tim – you can't try to pry intel out of Abby. It's not fair to her, and while I know you'd never do anything to put Gibbs in harm's way… there's too much at risk here."

McGee watched him for a moment, then nodded. "I get it… and I'll talk to Ziva. I care about him too, you know. We all do. I mean, not as much as you, but we all want him back safe."

Tony's brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of McGee's comment, then he shrugged it off. "Thanks, Tim. I'll let Gibbs know." He straightened up and stretched, then picked up the box. "Guess I'd better head home and finish packing."

"I could come and help… make sure you get that sleeping bag and the tent folded properly."

"No, Agent McGee, you can't." Director Vance stood in the doorway. "You're needed in the cyber unit – we have intel about an attempt to hack the Pentagon. You're likely the best qualified to recognize the attack."

McGee gave Tony a parting glance before he was out the door. Vance looked at the box in Tony's arms, then at the agent's face. "You should have been on the road by now, DiNozzo."

"Yes, sir… McGee was just being thorough."

Vance nodded. "As much as Gibbs is a pain in my ass, we need him back here. Do whatever it takes, but keep yourselves safe." Vance inclined his head in Tony's direction, and then he was gone.

Tony hitched the box more securely into his grip, then headed for his car.

**Saying Goodbye**

It hadn't taken long for Tony to pack, back at his apartment. Most of it was already done, thanks to McAnal… and Tony had smiled to see that the tent and sleeping bag were already folded and attached to the big White Mountain Pack McGee had picked up for him at L.L. Bean. "Nice cover, McGoo." Part of him wished that Vance hadn't shown up when he did… he wouldn't have minded a little more support from his probie.

He'd decided to wait to unload some of his things from the pack until he arrived at Gibbs' house and could see how much room Gibbs' things were going to take up. The boots would be a pain to carry, but he was figuring on only two or three changes of clothes, together with another Gore-Tex jacket, so maybe he'd be able to manage alright. The rest of the gear fit in the pack, either in the large main compartment or the various side pockets, and it wasn't too heavy for Tony to carry comfortably, making him feel just a bit better about everything.

He drove the 4-Runner Vance had rented for them to Gibbs' house, parked in the driveway, and brought the pack inside, dumping it on the couch before heading for the basement. What he saw there made him pause… Abby was seated on the floor again, a small stack of papers piled on one side, and Gibbs was resting against her on the other side; Abby's arm was draped over him and she was scratching him behind the ears while she typed one-handed on her laptop. Gibbs looked up as Tony continued down the stairs, and Tony could have sworn the insides of the fox's ears turned pink.

"How'd you manage that?"

Abby looked up. "Tony! Isn't it great?" She gave Gibbs' ears an extra rub, then grinned at Tony. "I guilt-tripped him. I mean, he's been so affectionate and all with you, so I just said that he must love you more than me, and I pouted, and here we are."

Tony grinned back. "That's okay, Boss. We won't let on that you're really a softie at heart."

Gibbs glared at him before turning his head away and huffing loudly.

"Are you guys ready to go?"

Tony nodded. "I think so. Vance wants this over with as soon as possible… remind me to tell you what he said, Boss." He smiled at Abby. "I just need to pack some clothes for Gibbs and then we'll be ready to rock."

Abby set her laptop down and got to her feet. "Check this out! I did some shopping." She turned to the workbench and held up a small harness with zippered compartments on either side. "See?! Now Gibbs can carry stuff too. I put that block of wood that we cut last night into this compartment here," she unzipped it to show him, "and this one is going to have all the info I printed out about the tree spirit and what you need to do when you get there. I gave you the coordinates for your phone and GPS… that's as close as we can come to the exact location of the tree that was cut down."

Gibbs jumped up on the workbench and sniffed the pack; Tony got the impression the fox was glad to be able to do something useful. Abby continued to explain.

"Now, this pocket carries food – I got a bunch of jerky and some dehydrated food for him, but I bet he can hunt and you can cook over a fire – Timmy showed you how to do that, right? I also got a folding water dish for him, and a water bottle fits right here," she pointed it out, "oh, you got a test kit for Giardia, right? Cause that would totally suck, if you guys got sick on top of everything else."

Tony smiled. "Yeah, Abs… McGee's got us all squared away."

Abby nodded. "Good. The other nice thing about the harness is this really bright red color… hunters will see that easily, and the fact that he's carrying a pack at all will mean he's with you and they won't shoot him."

"Abby."

She turned to him, her eyes big and her lower lip caught up in her teeth. Tony reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"The pack is brilliant. It'll help keep him safe."

Abby nodded and squeezed him hard. "Bring him back, Tony… the way he was, I mean. Fox Gibbs is cute and all, but I miss my Caff-Pow deliveries and that Gibbsian half-smile and the way he says 'what'd'ya got, Abs.'"

"Gonna do my best," Tony said, looking over her shoulder and meeting Gibbs' eyes. "Promise."

Abby pulled back suddenly. "I know you are, and Gibbs knows that too, right?" She turned to Gibbs and stared at him for a moment, then bent down to grab the papers she'd printed out. "Here – I got you a motel room tonight in Connecticut… figured you'd drive at least that far, and it's only about six hours, right off 84, just before Hartford and where you hook onto 91. If you're going that way… I guess you could take 84 to the Mass Pike and then head north from there. Anyway, they take dogs at the motel, so you won't have to be too sneaky, especially since you'll get there after dark. I got a collar and leash for Gibbs, just in case they make a big deal out of the leash laws. And I know Gibbs won't complain too much, 'cause it's you, you know?"

"Whatever you say, Abby."

"Right. Okay… so here's where you can get a spruce sapling that you can take up the mountain." She handed him another page. "And here's a list of places near and on the mountain where you can clean up a bit, maybe wash clothes, stuff like that. They're like way stations for hikers. You could probably stay overnight, except that they tend to be booked pretty far in advance, and I don't know if they'd let Gibbs in, plus someone would probably recognize that he's not a dog… you have rain gear, right? I mean, it shouldn't snow yet, but the weather on Mount Washington changes really quickly. Did you know it's the most dangerous place in the country, weather-wise? You need to keep checking the weather. They've recorded wind gusts of over two hundred miles! Not that you're going all the way up to the summit, but still. You need to be careful. People die up there… especially from hypothermia. You have to keep each other warm!" Abby was pacing now. "Where you need to go is actually not too far off the Crawford Path, so you can follow that for a while. You'll likely run into a lot of hikers, so I guess it sort of depends on how you and Gibbs want to handle that, but people usually see what they expect to see, and if he's got his pack on, they'll see a dog and not a fox."

Gibbs yipped softly, just once, and Abby came to a stop in front of him. "You have to be okay, Gibbs." She reached out to stroke the fur on his neck; he leaned into her and then reached up to lick her face, making her giggle. Tony found himself blinking some moisture away from his eyes.

Abby turned to the pack suddenly, and took out the piece of wood Tony had cut from one of the planks the night before, under Gibbs' silent supervision. "We can't forget this, or there'd be no point."

She approached the boat, kneeled down next to it, and held the wood against its frame. "Tony, Gibbs, come over here and put your hands… um, paws, whatever… on this block." Tony kneeled down next to her and put his hand on the wood, feeling a bit foolish. Gibbs followed suit, jumping down from the workbench and sitting on the other side of Abby, lifting a paw to rest on the block. Abby then began a low chant that Tony strained to hear while his eyes held Gibbs'.

'Great Spirit,  
give us hearts to understand;  
Never to take from creation's beauty more than we give;  
Never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed;  
Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth's beauty;  
Never to take from her what we cannot use.

Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost  
in selfishness and corruption,  
help us to find the way to restore our humanity.

Mountain Spirit, leader of the Mountain Spirits, your body is holy.  
By means of it, make him well again.  
Make his body like your own.  
Make him strong again.'*

Abby's voice trailed off as the block of wood took on a white glow and grew warm beneath their hands – and Gibbs' paw. The glow faded after only a few seconds, but the block felt different somehow, staying slightly warm and carrying an impression of energy with it that hadn't been there before.

"Wow," Abby breathed. "That worked."

Tony stared at her, and Gibbs pinned his ears back against his head. "You mean, you didn't know if it would?"

"It's not like we had absolute proof of a tree spirit, Tony! All we had until now was a hypothesis!"

Tony gestured at Gibbs. "Gibbs is a fox! You call that a hypothesis?!"

Abby stood, cradling the block of wood carefully before putting it back in the harness pocket. "Does it really matter? It worked. Gibbs can carry the tree spirit back to New Hampshire and he can be human again."

Tony wanted to argue some more… _how much of what Abby told us is just guesswork?_ Before he could speak again, though, Gibbs made a sound like a low whine, trailing off into a rumbling growl. Tony exhaled and nodded. "Got'cha, Boss. We need to get going." He looked down at the fox. "Why don't you head upstairs and show me what clothes you want to bring for when you're back to normal? We'll get everything packed up and hit the road."

Gibbs nodded once, then trotted over to Abby and leaned against her leg, looking up at her and yipping once before bounding up the stairs and out of sight.

Abby watched him go, then turned to Tony, pulling him into a fierce hug. "Tell me he'll be okay, Tony. Tell me you're going to come back and everything will be normal again."

Tony hugged her back. "Gibbs will be okay… we'll come back and everything will be normal again."

Abby squeezed even harder, then stepped back and punched him on the arm.

"Ow!"

She smiled at him. "You didn't have to patronize me." She hugged him one more time. "Don't forget anything, okay?" Pulling away again, she tilted her head to one side. "Maybe this will be really good for you guys, you know? Give you a chance to work things out." Abby kissed him on the cheek and then clomped up the stairs and out of the house.

Tony stared after her. "What is with everyone lately?" He looked around the basement, grabbed the harness, the papers Abby had left, and the bag containing the collar and leash and headed up the stairs to join his boss, switching out the lights as he left.

_*The Native American prayers are taken from non-copyrighted material on the following site: firstpeople dot us. The first two verses are from a prayer titled Great Spirit; the last is from A Prayer Addressed to the Mountain Spirits._


	5. Chapter 5

___Special thanks to Nyre, two anonymous guests, ncis fan, kbotr, ranma, Lauratrekkie and DreamCatcher for the guest reviews! And many thanks to gosgirl, whose questions were the inspiration for this chapter. _

5: Through the Eyes of a Fox

Moonlight shone through the thin curtains hanging on the motel windows. It clearly illuminated the sleeping man on the double bed nearest that window, leaving the canine form on the second bed half in shadow. The silver fox twitched in his sleep, whining softly.

_Sounds too sharp, startled out of sleep by a familiar voice. Smells – who knew there were so many smells in the world? Then the feeling of suffocating, trying to lift a hand to get rid of the blanket laying over him, only to smack himself in the face with something that was part of him but wasn't. Calling out to Tony, only to be unable to speak. Fear and confusion, fighting against he-didn't-know-what to get to freedom, his body not working right, the sounds coming from his own mouth adding to the mess. Ripping through cloth to stand under his boat, staring wildly around. Everything looked normal, but the sounds and the smells were overwhelming. Standing on four feet, thrown off balance by a tail… it had to be a nightmare – only he wasn't waking up. Or he was, and it was real. Meeting Tony's eyes, and doing the only thing that made sense: going to the man he'd trusted for so long, reaching the one thing in the room that could make him feel better. Walking was difficult, he almost fell over more than once, but he made it to Tony and safety. Leaning against the man's leg, he closed his eyes, filled his nose with the comforting scent, and waited for whatever Tony would do. The fear abated even more when Tony holstered his gun and spoke reassuringly… and Gibbs just knew that eventually things would be okay._

The fox's eyes snapped open. He looked around, ready to fight, then calmed as he realized he'd had the dream again. Every night since he'd changed, he'd relived that moment of waking, of feeling even more lost than he had when his mother had died, than when he'd heard of Shannon's and Kelly's deaths.

Gibbs sat up and raised a paw to rub at the side of his face. He looked around the room, curling his tail around his feet while he looked at his senior agent and friend.

Tony was on his back, sleeping soundly, laying as still as Gibbs had ever seen him. It was sort of surprising that the man was capable of being so quiet.

The drive to the motel in Connecticut had been uneventful, for the most part. Gibbs had ridden in the front seat, watching the scenery out the window and listening to Tony's nonstop monologue that apparently covered every road trip movie ever made. Every so often Tony would reach over and rub Gibbs' head right behind the ears, or stroke his neck and back. Gibbs had been mildly surprised to find he didn't mind; he'd been a bit more startled about the fact that Tony was comfortable doing it.

They'd stopped once to gas up and grab dinner at a Wendy's. Tony had locked Gibbs in the car, which annoyed Gibbs tremendously even though he understood the reasons. It hadn't been long before Tony returned with two burger patties for Gibbs, along with a cup of water. They'd eaten in relative silence: Gibbs had reflected that at least Ducky couldn't really complain about him not eating any vegetables.

The worst part of the trip had been the pit stop after eating. Tony had driven the car over to the end of the lot, away from anyone else, and opened the door for Gibbs to jump out and trot into the bushes for some privacy. Of course a patrol car had come along right then, the officer getting out and berating Tony about leash laws. He'd seemed more concerned about the possibility that Tony's dog might take off and get hit by a car than anything else, so to avoid a ticket Tony had called Gibbs over ('here, Jethro') and demonstrated how well-trained his dog was with a series of 'sit, down, stay, here' that made Gibbs want to bite someone. The officer left mollified, and really curious about Tony's 'tame fox from that breeding experiment in Russia.'

The entire experience so far had been enlightening, in a strange way. There were parts he hated… having to do tricks to prove his identity topped the list, especially in front of the Director. Losing control and attacking Vance the way he did, that was probably a close second. Thank god for Tony's quick reflexes. If Tony hadn't stopped him, things might be very different right now. Getting poked in the side – repeatedly – by a man who usually showed him respect… he knew it was petty, but he sort of blamed Abby for that.

Abby… thank god for her, too. Gibbs didn't think anyone else could have discovered the tree spirit, or figured out what to do to return Gibbs to normal.

Tony shifted in his sleep, turning on his side so he was facing Gibbs. The fox watched him for a moment, then refocused on his thoughts.

Thinking was really all he had to do. Abby was doing the planning, Tony was getting ready to help Gibbs, there was nothing for the team leader himself to do but think... and not really all that much to think about unless he wanted to drive himself crazy worrying about whether Abby's tree spirit was real, if he'd ever be human again – or if he'd slowly lose himself within the body of the fox.

Abby had picked up on his concern earlier in the day, while they'd waited for Tony to come home before setting out for New Hampshire. She'd been sharing some of what she was finding online, and was reading fables out loud, including stories about people who turned into animals and slowly lost their humanity until they were nothing more than the bear, or hawk, or wolf whose shapes they'd borrowed. She'd already guilt-tripped Gibbs into curling up next to her, so she felt it when he shifted uncomfortably and just failed to repress a stressed whine.

"_Gibbs! You've got nothing to worry about. The tree spirit wants to go home – it has to know that won't happen if you don't keep your sense of self. But besides that – I know you will stay you. Wanna know how I know?" Gibbs tilted his head back and looked at her. "That's how," she'd said, gesturing at his face. "Your eyes. You know how they say the eyes are the window to the soul? Those are your eyes, Gibbs, not a fox's eyes. Your soul is in there, you're in there, and you aren't going anywhere. You're going to be fine. Tony loves you, and he's going to make sure of it."_

And there was the most interesting aspect of this whole crazy experience. Tony, and Gibbs' own reactions to his senior field agent. The idea that Tony loved him wasn't really a new one… he knew Tony cared for him, and that he cared for Tony. What was surprising was how Gibbs himself was reacting to the man. Instinctively responding to him at the start, seeking safety in his presence… that made sense. There was no one else that Gibbs trusted as much to have his six in all aspects of his life, both in and out of work. The way they were interacting physically, that was the interesting part.

Gibbs had worked with a dog handler once, long ago in his stint as an MP. The man had explained how dogs' emotions were tied to their body language; they couldn't avoid expressing their feelings physically, and if you knew how to read them, you knew exactly what they were thinking. _"Dogs ain't gonna lie to ya,"_ he'd said. _"They can't."_

Gibbs knew he was being far more physically affectionate with Tony than he'd ever been as a human… and less affectionate with Abby, which he knew really had bothered her. It was why he'd allowed himself to be guilt-tripped into letting her pet him. The question on his mind was why the change.

He wasn't a huge fan of introspection, not without alcohol, at any rate. He knew, though, that he preferred to express himself verbally because it helped keep people at arm's length – being a functional mute, as he knew Tony called him behind his back, made that easy. He was physically demonstrative with the people he cared about; unfortunately for him, many of those same people relied more on words than on actions. Abby was an exception; so was Tony, although a lot of people didn't know that. Abby got hugs and kisses on the cheek; Tony got head slaps. That kept them both happy enough.

Gibbs focused on Tony's face. The man's eyes were moving under their lids. The fox tilted his head to one side, watching curiously, wondering what Tony was dreaming about.

In the later days of their short marriage, before Stephanie started divorce proceedings, she'd accused Gibbs of hiding behind his nonverbal tendencies. _"Just wait,"_ she'd said, _"someday you'll wish you could express yourself with words. You'll lose someone else, like you're losing me, because you just can't do it."_

Gibbs wasn't entirely sure, but he thought maybe Stephanie was wrong. He did wish he could talk, but he seemed to be expressing himself just fine with the people who mattered. He was more comfortable getting in Tony's space than he'd have thought, and had found himself missing his friend over the past several days when Tony had been at work and Gibbs was stuck in the house.

He hadn't missed the comments others had made to Tony about what they seemed to think was an entirely different sort of affection. He'd heard what Vance had said about sharing with the class when Gibbs relaxed in Tony's arms, and he'd also heard some of Abby's comments , things said when she thought he was out of earshot – apparently she didn't know much about the fox's extraordinary hearing. They seemed to think Tony's affection for Gibbs was more romantic in nature. Gibbs was a bit skeptical about that, but he couldn't deny his own desire for physical proximity, even though he wasn't sure what it meant, if it meant anything beyond a need for reassurance while stuck in this body.

He actually found Tony's apparent cluelessness about their interpretations rather amusing, although he did wonder if Tony wasn't playing them all, just a bit.

"Boss? Y'okay?"

Gibbs blinked and refocused on Tony's face. The man's eyes were open and he was watching Gibbs, looking a little concerned.

Gibbs sighed, realizing once again how grateful he was that Tony was here, on his six, willing to help him. He got to his feet, shook himself a bit, then crouched and jumped from his bed to Tony's, sniffing at the man and tickling his face with his whiskers.

Tony laughed. "Come on, Boss, cut that out. We need to sleep… got a long day tomorrow."

Gibbs impulsively licked Tony's face once, then turned in a couple of circles next to him before lowering himself onto the mattress and curling up, covering the tip of his nose with his tail.

Tony shifted back on the bed a little, causing Gibbs to experience a flash of surprise that the man seemed to want more space between them. Then he reached out an arm and pulled the fox closer, leaning in to drop a sleepy kiss on the furry head. "S'gonna be alright, Jethro."

Gibbs relaxed, leaning back against Tony's chest and resting his head on the pillow just under Tony's chin. Tony's hand slid between Gibbs' front legs, running fingers through his fur; Tony mumbled something incoherent, and then both man and fox were asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

_Special thanks for the guest feedback: Nyre, Lauratrekkie, and the anonymous reviewers. Thanks to all for the wonderfully encouraging reviews and alerts! Unbetaed, as usual… so everything's my fault. _

_The hike detailed in this chapter is a mix of fact and fiction – some of the distances, features, and rules along the trail are real, some are not. I've lengthened the Crawford Path for the purposes of this story, having the hike take a couple of days, which my research indicates is quite a bit longer than it really is, especially since the goal isn't to go all the way to the top. _

_Just a heads up… I'm entering a very busy week or two at work. Going to try to carve out time for writing, but the next chapter might take a couple of weeks – or more, unfortunately – to get posted._

6: Ascent

**Waking Up in Connecticut**

_Gibbs watched his team. They were all dancing; one of those old-fashioned line dances from some movie Diane had made him watch once… something about being prejudiced, or whatever. It wasn't his thing. Abby, Ziva, Ducky, and Palmer were enjoying themselves, while Tim and Tony were joking around, trying to cover their obvious unease. Gibbs was sitting off to one side, drinking bourbon, until Abby ran over and pulled him into the dance. They all went down the line, sort of like a square dance… then at the end of the line Gibbs found himself facing something he didn't recognize… someone all in white, but with inhuman features that reminded him of bark, and extra long fingers that looked more like branches… the being's eyes met his, and he felt himself getting smaller and taking on the shape of a fox… _

He blinked his eyes open slowly, trying to recall the being's face. The dream faded away and was forgotten, though, as Gibbs realized that he hadn't relived the nightmare of waking up a fox in his basement. It was the first time he hadn't experienced that particular dream since he'd changed – in fact, it was the best night's sleep he'd gotten since before it happened. He yawned and stretched all four legs, then rubbed his face on his pillow.

"Hey, Boss. Glad to see you're finally awake."

Gibbs lifted his head from Tony's thigh and looked up, startled. Tony shot him an irreverent grin, then went back to looking over the papers he had scattered around him as he leaned back against the headboard. "Just going over Abby's notes before we set out… she recommends a motel on route 302 up in the White Mountains, not far from the trail we need to follow. We can park there and start out pretty early, just have to stop off somewhere to get a spruce seedling to take with us. Has to be a seedling, not a seed. She gave me a list of places and said she'd make some calls when she could and text me where to go." He flipped through a few pages. "Not long now, really… one more night in a motel, one night camping on the trail. If things go well, you'll be back to normal in about three days."

Gibbs yawned again, then shifted over to lie on his chest, resting his head on Tony's leg and watching his face.

"You okay, Gibbs?"

Gibbs laid his ears back sideways, then rubbed his face on Tony's thigh and sighed loudly. Tony reached out and rubbed the top of Gibbs' head, then pulled his hand back. "Sorry, Boss… that okay?"

Gibbs raised his head up and tilted it slightly, looking at Tony's face. He reached out and nudged Tony's hand with his nose, laying his head back down and closing his eyes.

Tony smiled and went back to petting Gibbs' head and ears, watching the fox for a moment before going back to his papers.

**Waking Up in New Hampshire**

The drive from Connecticut to the White Mountains had gone smoothly. They'd left a little later than originally planned, stopping off a couple of times to eat and take a pit stop, arriving at the motel on 302 around 5:30 p.m. Tony had to authorize a refundable security deposit of fifty dollars to the owner because of his pet dog; his joke to Gibbs about not peeing on the carpet earned him, in Tony's view, an excessively hard nose punch.

They spent the night together on the queen size bed; Tony hadn't bothered to get a room with two doubles. Gibbs was grateful, although he couldn't tell Tony that; he suspected sharing space with his friend had kept the worst of the dreams away. They fell asleep just as they had the night before, and Gibbs didn't dream at all that night.

The next morning found Gibbs up earlier than Tony, pacing the room and watching the sunrise through the window. There was a beautiful view of the mountains, although to Gibbs each tree seemed to harbor something watchful and not altogether pleasant.

Now that they were here, he wanted to get going. The sooner they started out, the sooner he'd be back to himself. He tried to decide what he was anticipating more: talking or coffee. Coffee won.

Gibbs stood up on his hind feet, paws up on the window sill, watching cars go by. A door slammed shut; a few people carrying large backpacks and wearing hiking gear walked past his window. They saw him watching and waved. He wondered how they'd react if he waved back, but didn't try it.

He glanced over his shoulder at Tony, who was still fast asleep. Gibbs pushed off from the window sill and trotted over to their gear, sniffing at the spruce seedling that was poking up through the pocket in his harness that also held the block of wood from his basement. The nursery Tony had bought it from had wrapped the roots in wet paper towel and told Tony to keep it moist until he could plant it. It was hard to believe that something powerful enough to turn him into a fox could fit inside such a tiny tree, but Gibbs had faith in Abby and her research.

He looked up quickly when Tony made a noise, but it was only to turn over. Gibbs growled low in his throat and bounded over to the bed and up onto the mattress. Tony shifted slightly, but didn't wake. Gibbs sat by the man's head and stared, willing him to wake up. Tony muttered something in his sleep, but still didn't wake. Gibbs sighed, then raised his right paw and brought it down on the back of Tony's head, perhaps a little harder than he needed to.

Tony woke with a start and turned over quickly, staring wide-eyed at Gibbs. "Did you just paw-slap me?"

Gibbs nodded slowly.

Tony grinned. "That's so cool." The grin faded quickly as he glanced at the clock. "It's not even seven, Boss!"

Gibbs growled a bit.

Tony sighed. "Okay, fine. I guess if I was this close to getting back to being a coffee-addicted, grumpy old bastard with a boat fetish, I'd want to get started too."

Gibbs snorted and poked Tony in the shoulder with his nose.

"Ow!" Tony rubbed his shoulder and glared at the fox. "I definitely prefer the head slaps."

**Heading Out**

Tony slammed the back of the 4-Runner shut and hit the key lock. "That should do it." He turned to look down at Gibbs, who was shifting his shoulders around, settling his harness into place. It had taken Tony a few minutes to figure out all the straps and how to tighten them, and he'd almost gotten paw-slapped again when he had to reach underneath the fox to tighten the belly strap.

He pocketed the keys and hoisted the large backpack up on his shoulders, taking a minute to adjust the hip belt and other straps, making sure it wasn't pulling in the wrong places. After commenting on the pack's weight ("It must be love, Boss, if I'm willing to walk up a freakin' mountain while playing pack horse."), and getting a narrow-eyed, side-ways glance from his four-footed companion, Tony gestured toward one end of the parking lot. "We go over that bridge to cross the water, then up onto the Crawford Path."

They waited a bit for some of the other hikers to leave the area, some clearly just out for a short stroll while others were geared up for a long climb. Once they had the lot more or less to themselves, they set out for the bridge.

There was a sign near the bridge, reading 'Gibbs Brook,' and another sign that read 'Crawford Connector/Crawford Path 0.4 miles.' Tony stopped in front of the first sign. "Huh. I thought Abby was kidding."

The bridge wasn't very long or very high up; the railing came up about chest high on Tony. They crossed over, Gibbs trotting slightly ahead of Tony, and followed the path into the woods.

They walked for a while, not seeing too many people, until they came across another wooden sign, this one reading 'Gibbs Falls' and pointing off to the left. Tony looked over at Gibbs. "Wanna go see?"

Gibbs looked at the path along the direction they were headed, then back at Tony. He grumbled a bit, but headed onto the side path, leading Tony toward the falls. Unbeknownst to the fox, Tony pulled out his smart phone and snapped a few pictures of the fox in harness, adding to the collection he'd been covertly building since the second night of Gibbs' transformation.

It didn't take too long to reach the Falls, which were surrounded by a mix of broadleaf and cone-bearing trees. A thin rush of water cascaded down over a rocky outcropping, veering this way and that to follow a path over the rocks. It ended in a large shallow pool which fed the stream they'd crossed earlier.

Tony took in the view for a few minutes, then looked at Gibbs. "Any relation?"

The fox glared at him, then turned his back on Tony and headed back the way they'd come. Tony grinned and jogged after him.

It didn't take much longer for them to reach the actual trail, which was marked by another sign stating that the path had originated in 1819. "Wonder what the tree spirits thought of the first people walking up here," Tony commented. Gibbs made a sound somewhere between a snort and a sneeze, breaking into a slow run along the path. Tony set off after him. "On your six, Boss!"

As the morning wore on, they encountered some early hikers returning from their walks in the woods. Every time someone appeared up ahead, Gibbs would drop back, walking next to Tony to disguise the fact that he wasn't on a leash. They'd passed a few signs reminding hikers about the leash laws, and Tony was hoping he wouldn't have to pull out the collar and leash he'd stashed in his backpack without Gibbs' knowledge. A few people commented on the unusual looking dog, or exclaimed over the harness, but no one seemed to have a problem with the fox's presence.

The path started out easy enough, winding through the woods, and Tony set a comfortable pace. After a few hours, the path started to incline more sharply, and the hiking became more strenuous. They stopped for lunch at one point; Tony ate some energy bars while Gibbs got a combination of jerky and freeze-dried meat Abby had stocked up on. Tony checked his cell; the signal wasn't strong, but he was able to fire off text messages to both Abby and Vance, updating them on their location.

It took a few more hours for them to run into trouble. A lone hiker was making his way down the path toward them; he carried a large pack like Tony's, along with a tent, so he'd presumably been to the top of the mountain. As he drew near them, he looked over at Gibbs and his expression grew angry. "Hey! There's leash laws here. Shouldn't be dogs at all, chasing the wildlife… and people don't pick up after them, either."

Tony gave him an ingratiating smile. "I promise I do pick up after him, and he's really well-trained. See the pack he's carrying?"

"I don't give a crap about some cutesy accessory you fucking amateurs waste your money on." The man pulled out his cell. "You put that damn dog on a leash and keep him on it. I'm texting the rangers with your description… they see you without proper control, they'll kick you off the mountain." He glared at Tony then started texting.

Tony sighed and unhooked the hip belt on his pack, letting it slide to the ground. He opened up one of the side compartments and pulled out the collar and leash he'd stashed away, then looked at Gibbs. "Here, Jethro."

Gibbs glared at him, but the hiker was watching, so he moved closer to Tony and sat while the collar was clipped around his neck. Tony got his pack back on, then turned to the man, holding the end of the leash in one hand. "Happy now?"

The man just glared at him, then continued down the trail. Tony watched him go, wishing he had one of those voodoo dolls of Abby's. He shrugged off the anger and looked at Gibbs, who seemed extremely uncomfortable. "Sorry, Boss. Undercover work, you know?"

They continued to climb the trail, Tony keeping Gibbs on leash just in case the hiker really had texted the rangers. Last thing they needed was to get kicked off the trail… he did not relish the idea of trying to sneak up the side of the mountain at night.

Gibbs grew progressively more tense as the afternoon wore on. He had to wait for Tony to scramble over some of the larger rocks that dotted the trail, and the pressure on his neck made him both itchy and jumpy.

They reached a smaller trail that led off to one side, with a sign marking it as leading to a camping site up ahead. Tony looked down at Gibbs. "Might be a good idea to stop soon, Boss. I should probably have some light to help get this tent set up."

Just then they heard a squealing sound, and they both turned to see a pair of hikers coming down the path. One of them was staring at Gibbs and talking excitedly to her companion. "Oh, my God… that guy has a fox on a leash! That is just the most amazing thing _ever_! Forget what I said about getting a beagle, Justin… I want a fox!" She broke into a careful jog, and before either Tony or Gibbs could react, she was on her knees next to Gibbs and pulling him into a hug. "Isn't woo just the most adorable thing? Yes, oo is! That's the cutest little pack, and oh, look, you have a little tree!"

Justin arrived, red in the face, refusing to make eye contact with Tony. "Um, Angela… I don't think the fox likes that very much."

Gibbs was clearly furious, at least as far as Tony could tell. His body was rigid, his ears were flat against his head, and Tony caught a glint of very white teeth.

Angela was oblivious. "Justin, don't be such a party pooper!" She looked up at Tony and squeezed Gibbs harder. "Where did you get him? I need one."

Tony gritted his teeth. "You need to let go of him. Now."

Her eyes narrowed. "Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed." She bent over and crooned in Gibbs' ear. "Woo wuvs Angewa, don't oo?"

Justin finally met Tony's eyes and shrugged. "Sorry, man. She likes animals."

Gibbs was pulling back from the woman, growling.

"He's singing to me!" she gushed.

"HEY!" The couple looked at Tony, who pulled out his badge. "I'm a federal agent. This fox is a highly trained animal, and you're interfering with a federal investigation. Now _back off_, before I take you both into custody!"

Angela got to her feet, staring wide-eyed at Tony. "I, um… "

"GO!"

They went, going as fast as they safely could. Tony stared after them, fighting the urge to draw his gun and shoot them. "Be doing the world a favor," he muttered. "Let's hope they never reproduce." He felt a yank on the leash and looked down. Gibbs was fighting the leash in earnest, pulling against it and grabbing it in his mouth, growling from deep in his chest. "Gibbs! Hang on a sec."

Tony moved in and removed the collar from around Gibbs' neck. The second the thing was off, Gibbs snapped at him, grazing his hand and drawing blood. Then he took off at a dead run, harness and all.

**Camping **

Tony had used the first aid kit in his pack to treat the injury; it was minor, and he wasn't concerned about it. He had the tent set up, and was working on building a fire.

His first inclination had been to run after Gibbs, but he'd moved only a few steps before he stopped, staring off in the direction Gibbs had gone. Between Gibbs' Marine training and whatever foxy instincts he now had, the odds Tony could find him were pretty slim. He finally decided the best thing to do would be to set up camp and wait for Gibbs to come back.

He'd thought about calling Abby for advice, but decided against it. He didn't want to upset her.

Tony had cleared out an area and dug a small fire pit; he'd also gathered sticks and set them up the way McGee had taught him. Then he diverged from McGee's purist notions and pulled out a lighter, getting the sticks catching in a matter of minutes.

A short time later, after it grew dark, he got that prickly feeling at the back of his neck that usually told him Gibbs was around. "Hope he didn't lose the damn tree," he muttered to himself. Then, "Hey, Boss."

Tony carefully didn't look up, just focused on the fire and started talking. "Believe me, if that woman had grabbed me like that, I'd have gone postal too." He held his bandaged hand up. "All good, Gibbs, really. No harm done."

A slight sound alerted him, and he glanced over to see Gibbs come out from under some bushes. The tension left his body when Gibbs moved close enough to the fire for Tony to see that the harness was intact and the spruce seedling still sat securely in the pocket. "Want me to get that pack off you?"

Gibbs stood still, then nodded slowly. Tony got up, moved over to him, and quickly released the buckles. Gibbs moved off a few steps and shook himself vigorously, while Tony went to his pack, took out some water, and made sure the seedling's roots were still moist. He laid the packs next to the tent, then went back to his spot near the fire.

When Gibbs didn't come any closer, Tony looked up. The fox was sitting quietly, head down, ears drooping sideways, tail tucked tightly around his legs. Tony might not be an expert in canine body language, but it was clear to him that his friend was upset. He picked a stick up from the pile he had placed a few feet from the fire, and poked at it, getting the flames to leap up a little higher.

"I get it, Jethro. I can't imagine how you feel about all this, but I'm guessing you're handling it a lot better than I would." Tony continued to stare at the fire. "I mean, can you imagine me being okay with not talking?" A quick glance over at Gibbs showed Tony the fox hadn't moved.

"It's got to be frustrating and scary, too… no way the Marines prepared you for this. And then to top it off, I go and do something stupid like put that collar on you. Should have just flashed my badge and told that guy off, you know? Or waited to actually get accosted by a ranger, show him my badge then." Tony shrugged. "Win some, lose some, I guess."

He looked at Gibbs, who was sitting up a little taller. "Come on over, Boss. Promise I won't bite you back."

Gibbs got to his feet and hesitantly approached Tony, who held out his bandaged hand. Gibbs sniffed the bandage, licked it, then whined softly. Tony patted the ground next to him and stared into the fire; moments later, Gibbs sat next to him. Tony moved his arm so it went loosely around the fox, and Gibbs leaned against him, shivering slightly.

"It's okay, Gibbs. Really. I know you don't like to lose control, and I think I can count the number of times I've seen that happen on two fingers. Maybe three." Tony moved his hand up to give Gibbs a neck rub. "Having to wear that collar… had to be demeaning, and doesn't help that I was the one who put it on you. I'm supposed to have your six, not chain it up. And I'm not speculating about your kinky side. If you have one."

Gibbs snorted quietly, and Tony smiled.

"Meant what I said before… you're handling this really well. I mean, freaky enough that you wake up like this, and there I am, not believing it's you. Thank god for Abby, right? Then you've got to do tricks for Vance, and for that cop yesterday… and then there's that tree spirit forcing you to go on this weird quest like something out of Tim's comic books. Add insult to injury with that crazy lady, who basically assaulted you… can't imagine how that loss of control feels to a guy like you. Like you've suddenly been sold into slavery or something. Bet I'd lash out too, probably worse than you did."

Tony fell silent. Gibbs wasn't shaking anymore, and he took that as a good sign.

"Hungry, Boss?"

Gibbs let out a quiet yip.

They ate and sat watching the fire for a while. Tony felt like he could maybe appreciate the peace and quiet of being out in the middle of nowhere. "Guess we got lucky no one else is camping here tonight."

Another little yip of agreement.

After a few more minutes of peace, Tony got to his feet and stretched. "Thinking we should get some sleep. We're going to reach our target tomorrow afternoon, should probably get ready for it."

They both went in opposite directions into the woods, reappearing a few minutes later. Tony put out the fire, then used his flashlight to get to the small tent. He left his hiking boots right outside the tent, then ducked inside. Gibbs followed him in, and Tony zipped the tent shut.

He'd already laid the sleeping bag out. It was a large one, a bit fancy with a built-in pillow. Tony had serious doubts that he'd be able to fold it back up the way Tim had, but he decided to worry about that in the morning.

He stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers, then crawled into the bag. Gibbs sat watching him; Tony grinned and held up one end of the bag.

"Huddle up, Jethro. It can be our dirty little secret."

Gibbs got up and crept into the bag, giving Tony a light paw slap as he did so. Tony laughed quietly. "I'm beginning to think you do have a kinky side, Gibbs."

Gibbs responded by licking Tony's face once. Tony felt the last of the tension from the past few hours finally melt away, and he pulled the fox close, reaching out to shut off the flashlight. They lay silently for a moment, until Tony chuckled sleepily. "You suppose Abby and the rest of them are right, thinking I've got a thing for you?"

Gibbs just licked Tony's face again.

_Author's Note: Gibbs Brook and Gibbs Falls are real. _


	7. Chapter 7

_Thanks to everyone for all the reviews and alerts, and special thanks for the guest reviews! Hope you all enjoy this one – going to try to post weekly again, but work is not really going well and I can't promise anything. Unbetaed, as usual, so I take full responsibility for all mistakes.  
_

7: Planting a Tree

**Morning**

Tony woke to the sun shining on the tent walls. He stretched and yawned, then reached out for Gibbs, only to feel a slightly warm empty spot on the sleeping bag. His eyes opened wide and he propped himself up on one arm, looking around the tent. No sign of the fox, but the tent door was partially unzipped.

Tony yawned again. "Guess he's not any more patient as a fox." He scrambled out of the bag and was quick to get dressed – it wasn't very warm in the tent. Jeans belted and jacket secured, he opened the tent door all the way and stepped out, looking around. Everything was as he'd left it the night before; no campers had shown up overnight. Tony picked up his boots and shook them out before putting them on; one story from McGee about mice nesting in boots was enough to instill caution.

One pit stop later, Tony got a fire going and was trying to fold up the sleeping bag which he'd taken out of the tent when he heard a short bark. He turned around and saw Gibbs perched on a rock, looking at him with his mouth open and tail waving gently from side to side.

"Oh, hey, Boss! Nice morning, huh?"

Gibbs looked at him for a moment, then jumped down off the rock and darted toward Tony, bumping his leg as he zipped past, then whirled around a few feet away and barked again. Tony stared at him for a moment.

"Um, what's up?"

Gibbs crouched down on the ground, lowering the front half of his body while his tail still waved in the air, and growled low in his throat. Tony blinked, remembering an outing with McGee and his German Shepherd, and how the dog had play-bowed to get McGee to throw the ball for him. He suppressed a smile, then turned his attention back to the sleeping bag. "Don't suppose you want to help out here, Gibbs? McBoyScout made this look so easy at the store."

Gibbs fell silent for a second, then growled again and bounded toward Tony, nose-punching him in the arm and darting away again. Wishing he had his phone ready for video, Tony kept his attention on the sleeping bag. "Come on, Gibbs, I know you're impatient to get going – I'm trying here!"

The fox whined a bit; his tail drooped a little and he moved in closer to Tony. As soon as Gibbs came within range, Tony dropped the bag and grabbed, almost getting his hands on the fox, who darted sideways and took off at a loping run. Laughing, Tony scrambled to his feet and gave chase.

The chase continued for a while. Gibbs jumped up onto the rock and taunted Tony a bit, yipping at him derisively as the man sped up. Just as Tony reached the rock, Gibbs jumped off and ran for some bushes. Tony anticipated the move, though, and managed to get in the way just enough to force a course change. The fox doubled back toward the tent, keeping it between him and Tony.

Tony grinned at the fox, who as far as he could tell was hurling canine insults at him. He feinted this way and that, trying to get Gibbs to come out from around the tent, but Gibbs wasn't fooled. He sat down, his tongue lolling sideways out of his mouth, and grinned at Tony.

Finally Tony raised himself to his full height. "Okay, Jethro, I know when I'm beat." He bent over and started taking the tent stakes up out of the ground. Gibbs watched for a few minutes, then got up and shook himself. He trotted over to Tony and watched as the man started removing the rods from the tent fabric, collapsing them and laying them in a pile. Tony watched Gibbs out of the corner of his eye, and when he could see that the fox was relaxed, he pounced, grabbing him and hoisting him up in his arms. "Gotcha!"

Gibbs struggled a bit, and grumbled good-naturedly, but after a few seconds he relaxed in Tony's hold. Tony reached up with one hand to rub the fox's ears. "You're in a good mood, Boss. Nice to see."

He got a lick to the face for that comment, then Gibbs sighed and rested his head on Tony's shoulder. "You must be happy that you'll be back to human tonight." The fox shifted his body a bit, pushing back to look Tony in the eyes, and nodded. Tony hugged the fox carefully, then set him back down, suppressing a small pang of disappointment as he realized this new closeness would disappear once Gibbs was back to being human. He watched as Gibbs trotted a few feet away, shaking himself a bit to settle the fur back into place, then walked over to his harness to sniff at the spruce seedling.

Tony sighed and went back to the tent; it didn't take him too long to get everything folded up and hooked back onto his pack, although he did have to check a couple of pictures on his phone to do it. After that he switched the phone's setting to 'sleep', hoping to conserve the battery long enough to use the GPS function later and find the turn-off from the trail that would lead them to the site where they needed to plant the tree.

They ate a quick breakfast, then Tony doused the fire and buried it before picking up Gibbs' harness and securing it properly. He managed to avoid the more sensitive areas this time around.

They set off, heading back to the Crawford Path and then up the mountain, Gibbs in the lead, Tony on his six.

**Destination**

They ran into only a few people here and there as they hiked. No one complained about the fox being off leash, although if anyone had Tony was prepared to simply flash a badge and tell them to back off. They'd been at it for about four hours before Gibbs slowed down and looked around, twisting sideways to look at the pocket that held the seedling and the block of wood. Tony tensed as he picked up on the confused look on Gibbs' face.

"Something wrong, Boss?"

Gibbs looked up at him, then off to the left. The path had been getting much steeper, and while they were still below the tree line, all the trees were conifers now, and not as tightly grouped as they'd been used to. Gibbs took a few steps toward the left, then whined softly, looking back at Tony.

"Tree spirit trying to tell you something?"

Gibbs growled quietly, then yipped once. Tony pulled out his phone and powered it up, then hit the buttons to pull up the GPS locator. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, which he unfolded and read carefully.

"You feeling a pull off to the left?"

Gibbs nodded. Tony returned the gesture. "We're pretty much where Abby says to turn off. A couple of hours scrambling over rocks and we should be there."

Gibbs yipped excitedly and took off at a run.

"Hey, Boss! Hold up! You're in no shape to carry me if I sprain an ankle again."

The going got much tougher off the maintained path; the footing wasn't nearly as easy, and Tony slipped a few times on some of the steeper parts. Gibbs had slowed down after his initial enthusiasm, and he waited patiently for Tony to make his way over some of the more treacherous areas.

A few hours later, they were walking through a stand of large spruce and fir trees. Gibbs was moving more slowly, almost as if he was listening to something while he walked.

"Tree spirit talking to you, Gibbs?"

The fox turned back to look at him, then made a move that was half head-shake, half shrug. Tony checked the GPS again. "Should be right around here somewhere."

Another ten minutes and they came around a rock outcropping to a more level spot, where a stream ran past several large trees; there was a cleanly cut stump off to one side, near the stream. Gibbs walked over to it and sniffed; Tony moved to stand next to him and then turned, looking down the mountain and across some of the neighboring peaks and valleys.

"Nice view. I can understand this spirit wanting to come back here."

He removed his pack, setting it down next to a tree a few yards away, then walked over to Gibbs and removed the harness, unzipping the pocket with the seedling and the block of wood.

"What do you think, Boss? Where should we plant this?"

Gibbs stared at the block for a moment, then looked around, moving purposefully toward the tree stump, sniffing at the ground before starting to dig with his front feet at a level spot a few feet away from the stump. Tony joined him, letting Gibbs do most of the work, using his hands to scoop out the loose soil that ran back down into the hole.

After a few minutes, Gibbs sat back and looked up into Tony's face. Tony brushed his hand off on his jeans, then took out the paper with Abby's notes and read it through again. He checked the depth of the hole in the ground.

"This should work… the seedling isn't all that big, so we can't make it too deep." He opened up the canteen he'd brought with him and splashed some water into the hole, then over the seedling's roots. Then he took a deep breath. "Okay, Boss… we need to repeat what Abby said the night we moved the spirit out of the boat."

Tony placed the block of wood at the bottom of the hole; he couldn't be sure, but he thought maybe it was glowing a bit. Then he held the seedling out, resting its roots on the block, and placed his other hand on the wood. Gibbs followed suit with one front foot, and Tony held the seedling steady while he repeated the Native American prayers Abby had copied down for them.

As soon as Tony finished speaking, the seedling's roots took on a definite glow. Tony glanced at Gibbs to see the fox looking back at him, blue human eyes in a canine face. Tony then started pushing the soil back into the hole, covering the block of wood and the seedling's roots, being careful to keep the roots touching the wood. It wasn't long before he let go of the seedling and pressed down on the soil around it a bit more, making sure it was stable. He added a little more water, and then he and Gibbs backed away, Gibbs staring at the tiny spruce and Tony staring at Gibbs, both waiting for a miracle to happen.

**Reassurance**

Several hours later, they were still in the same spot, only now Gibbs was sitting quietly with his tail around his feet and Tony was cross-legged on the ground, chin propped up on one hand, watching the little tree.

"You know, Boss… maybe the spirit just needs some time to adjust. Its gotta move into a much smaller house than it's used to, right?"

Gibbs' ears twitched, but other than that he remained still and quiet.

Tony looked around; the light was starting to fade. He got up and worked quickly but carefully to get the tent set up a short distance from the seedling, where it was somewhat sheltered from the breeze that had picked up a little while ago. He dug another, smaller fire pit and got a decent fire going, unpacking a few things and setting up the sleeping bag in the tent, keeping an eye on Gibbs the entire time.

The fox didn't move at all, except to finally collapse into a small, furry heap, lying down with his head on his paws, still starting at the tiny tree.

Tony watched, then went over to him. "Come on, Jethro. I've got a fire going… gonna have some dinner. We did a lot of hiking today – we both need to eat."

Gibbs looked up at him, the misery in his eyes hitting Tony hard. He hesitated for a moment, then sat down next to the fox, reaching out and gently stroking the furry back.

"Gibbs… I'm going to make you a promise. I will always have your back, no matter what species you are. Got that?"

Gibbs didn't make a sound, but he did shift over so that he was leaning against Tony's leg.

"And, hey, we didn't know what to expect, right? Abby didn't either. Maybe tree spirits do their best work at night, like me." Gibbs snorted at that. "Seriously, though… maybe you should be asleep? I mean, don't you think it would hurt to turn into a different species? Ever seen American Werewolf in London? First time a transformation scene was shown in bright lighting, at least as far as I know… pretty brave of those special effects guys, cause if anything didn't look right, there was no hiding it. Anyway, David Naughton plays this American kid in England who gets bitten by a werewolf; he transforms with the full moon, and starts killing people –"

Gibbs sighed loudly and nose-punched Tony softly on the leg.

"Shutting up, Boss… ending kinda sucked anyway."

Tony fell silent and they both watched the tree for a moment longer. Then Tony cleared his throat. "Rick Baker won his first Oscar, for Best Makeup."

Gibbs made a sound that almost sounded like a fox might if he tried to laugh. Tony grinned. "Up you get, Boss… you need to eat. So do I."

Tony rose to his feet and Gibbs followed suit, trailing along behind and then settling down near the fire while Tony got their food together. They ate quietly, after which Tony collected some water from the stream, boiling it before pouring some out into a dish to cool down for Gibbs to drink. He filled his own canteen with the boiled water and set that aside too, then sat back and looked up at the stars.

The night sky was clear, which probably contributed to the dropping temperature, and the stars were brilliant. Both Tony and Gibbs were quiet; Tony absently rubbed Gibbs' neck and ears while he sat there, and Gibbs leaned into the touch.

The wind picked up a bit and Tony shivered. "Guess maybe it's time to take cover."

They headed off in different directions, disappearing behind trees. Tony came back and fished his flashlight out of his pack, switched it on, then tossed the pack into the tent. He moved over to the fire and kicked dirt over it to put it out. He then looked around with the flashlight until he spotted Gibbs back over by the seedling; the fox was poking at it with his nose, ears and tail hanging down. Tony swallowed hard, then cleared his throat and walked over to his friend, who was curled up on the ground again.

"Nuh uh, Boss… no way you're staying out here tonight. Come on, let's go get warm."

Gibbs didn't move, so Tony adjusted the flashlight under one arm and reached down to pick him up. There was no protest; Gibbs just stayed limp in Tony's arms all the way back and into the tent.

Tony zipped up the door and removed his boots, jeans and jacket, digging through his pack to come up with the long underwear McGee had insisted he buy. He put it on and sighed in relief as he got into the sleeping bag. "I'm kinda envious of your fur coat right now, Gibbs."

He looked over at the fox sitting near the sleeping bag in the glow of the flashlight, and his eyes widened as he saw damp tracks making their way from Gibbs' eyes into his fur. Tony reached out and wiped at the wetness with his fingers; Gibbs startled and his eyes widened a bit as he looked at Tony, who smiled gently.

"Had this friend who had a dog," he said conversationally, as he continued to smooth the fur on the fox's face, "who had all kinds of allergies. Dog's eyes teared up all the time. My friend finally took him to a vet who specialized in allergies, did all these tests… they had to shave half the dog's hair away to do the skin tests, figure out what that dog was allergic to." Tony reached around and rubbed Gibbs' neck again. "Worked, but that dog looked damn funny for a while. I'm thinking you should wait until you're human again to get tested."

Gibbs stared at him for a moment, and then moved forward, crawling into the sleeping bag that Tony held open for him. A little maneuvering had Gibbs curled against Tony's chest, his face buried into Tony's neck. The fox let out a long, shuddering breath, and Tony clenched his jaw a bit to hold back his own emotions.

"It's going to be okay, Jethro. I promise."

He reached out and switched off the flashlight, then settled his arm around the fox, holding him close. Gibbs drifted off to sleep soon enough; Tony lay awake a while longer, running everything they'd done through his head, trying to figure out what he'd done wrong.


	8. Chapter 8

_As always, tremendous thanks for all the wonderful reviews and alerts, with special appreciation going out to the guest reviewers whom I can't answer. As usual, this is unbetaed, so all mistakes are my fault. The regular disclaimers apply… I don't own the NCIS characters, although I do own the story. _

_Heads up for some small spoilers for the following episodes: Requiem, Bete Noire, Bait, and Red Cell._

8: Revelations

Tony woke slowly, blinking grit out of his eyes. Once he'd finally fallen asleep, he'd dreamt nonstop… and not pleasantly, either. He'd relived that awful day Gibbs almost drowned, when he'd been sure he'd lost the man for good. Then he'd gone further back in time, finding Gibbs on the floor in Autopsy after Ari Haswari shot him in the shoulder. After that he was back at that high school where Gibbs was taken hostage by the kid under the control of those drug dealers. Then he was shooting that door open to find Gibbs, badly beaten, standing over the Gunnery Sergeant who'd killed those two midshipmen… the list went on and on. The chronology was all messed up, almost as if someone had taken all the case files, shuffled them, then read them in random order.

Shaking his head, Tony looked around the tent, not surprised to see that Gibbs was nowhere to be found. He couldn't blame him; after the disappointment and emotional breakdown of the previous evening, his boss likely wanted to lick his figurative wounds in private. Tony sighed and glanced over at the pack that held his cell phone; he should probably call Abby and get some advice about what to do next. He decided to wait, though, until he saw Gibbs and knew more about what sort of state the fox was in.

It took him only a few minutes to get dressed and get his boots on, after which he opened the partially unzipped tent door and stepped out into a chilly, breezy, overcast morning. Grimacing at the idea of exposing his private parts to the elements, he moved quickly to a small clump of trees to relieve himself, feeling slightly paranoid about watching tree spirits.

Once that business was taken care of, Tony looked around for any sign of the fox. "Gibbs?" He listened for a moment, but heard nothing. "Boss!" Still nothing, and now Tony was a little worried. He knew there was no way Gibbs was feeling playful like he had been yesterday morning, so this time around the lack of response was not a good sign.

Tony tried to stay calm; he couldn't help but wonder if Gibbs had simply taken off, not wanting to force Tony or Abby to have to deal with him in fox form for the rest of his life. That thought made him sick to his stomach, and he fought the urge to go tearing off across the mountain, shouting for his friend. _Gibbs has to know I wouldn't leave here without him – he wouldn't do that._

Tony took a deep breath, then started gathering wood for a fire. Breakfast first; he'd likely think more clearly with some food in him. He picked up a variety of small branches, making his way toward the seedling they'd planted last night. He wanted to look it over and see if he could get any clues as to why Gibbs hadn't changed back to human after the ritual.

Tony's brow furrowed as he reached the stump of the tree spirit's previous home… he'd gone right past the seedling without seeing it. He turned quickly, retracing his steps. No sign of it. Despite his best intentions to remain the calm, competent federal agent, he began panicking.

_What the hell… it's gone?! Where… why? Oh, man – what if the tree spirit decided it didn't like this location and just moved? Could it do that? Did it take Gibbs with it? Why would it do _that_?! Crap… what would a tree spirit want with a fox? Maybe this whole thing was an elaborate plot to foxnap Gibbs… okay. Stop. That's ridiculous. Breathe, Anthony._

Tony carefully set his armful of branches down on the ground. He looked over the area carefully, paced it off from the stump… _okay, here's where we dug the hole – I see the scratch marks… but this isn't right…_

There was a tree where they'd planted the seedling, but it was much too big. Half again Tony's height, with a trunk diameter almost as big as the width of his shoulders. It was the right kind of tree, a spruce, and it was smaller than any tree Tony had seen in this area yesterday, but much bigger than the seedling. He blinked as he stared up at highest branches, rubbing his neck as he felt it prickle. He shook his head. "This isn't possible."

"And me being a fox was?"

Tony whirled around and stared at a very human Gibbs, who stood there grinning at him.

"Jethro!"

He flung himself forward, crushing the man to him in a bear hug, sending Gibbs staggering backwards a few feet. They might have stayed upright, except that Gibbs' heel struck a root, and down they went. Tony twisted sideways, taking the brunt of the impact, and then just held on tight, eyes shut, breathing in the very human scent of the man. "Thank _God_. Seriously. I thought the tree foxnapped you or something. You're human again. I can't believe it." He burrowed his face into Gibbs' neck, letting himself revel in the feel of Gibbs' arms hugging him back. "No more fur. Not that it wasn't cool, the fur, really soft, you know? This is all skin, very human, it's awesome…"

Gibbs chuckled in Tony's ear. "Yeah, Tony… definitely all skin."

Tony's eyes blinked open and he moved his hands slightly on Gibbs' back. "Um…"

"Uh huh. No clothes."

Tony considered the fact that he was apparently half on top of his very naked boss, wrapped up in a full body hug. "Why?"

Gibbs shrugged, but showed no inclination to let go of Tony. "I woke up a few hours ago, still a fox… felt like I had to get out of the tent. Went outside, ended up near the tree… don't remember much more, except that everything got really hazy… I got really uncoordinated for a while, ended up sort of staggering around a bit, then I think I fell over, passed out… woke up a few minutes ago, heard you moving around… and now here we are."

Tony nodded, as if that all made perfect sense. "Okay." He tightened his arms around Gibbs again, and just lay there.

Neither of them moved for a few minutes, until the breeze picked up a bit and Gibbs shivered slightly. "Um… Tony. Kinda cold out here. No more fur coat, remember?"

Tony let go of his boss and scrambled to his feet, giving him a hand up. He looked the older man over carefully. "You okay? I mean, no pain or anything?"

Gibbs twisted around a bit, brushing himself off. "I'm fine. Except for the fact that I could really use some clothes right now."

Realizing that he was staring at parts of Gibbs he probably shouldn't be staring at, Tony reached out to grab the other man by the arm, and began quick marching him toward the tent. "Absolutely! Clothes… we have those. In the backpack. Which is in the tent."

Gibbs eyed Tony, grinning at him. "You're kinda cute when you're flustered."

Tony shot him a sideways glance, then practically shoved Gibbs into the tent, following after and making a beeline for the backpack, opening it up and hunting for Gibbs' clothes while the naked man zipped the tent door shut.

Gibbs turned from the door to be hit in the face with a shirt, followed by jeans, socks and boxers. Still grinning, he dressed quickly, conscious of Tony watching him, but feeling too good about being human again to care. Moments later Tony was handing him a pair of boots, and soon after that Gibbs was seated on a rock by the fire while Tony worked to get some breakfast together.

A short time later they sat side by side, finishing off the instant coffee Tony had prepared to celebrate Gibbs' return to normal, drinking from lightweight tin cups. Without thinking, the younger man reached out and caressed the back of Gibbs' neck, running his fingers through the short hair. Gibbs turned his head slightly to look at him, eyebrows raised, and Tony grimaced as he suddenly realized what he was doing. He quickly dropped his arm.

"Sorry, Boss! Won't happen again… just, um, you know, checking for Abby – she wanted to know if your hair is as soft as your fur was."

Tony swallowed as Gibbs continued to look at him. Gibbs' lips twitched into a small smile, and he nudged Tony softly with his elbow.

Tony glanced down, then back up at Gibbs' face; the other man was sipping at his coffee, staring off into the distance at the peaks and valleys. He shot Tony a sideways look, then nudged him with his elbow again.

Tony blinked, reminded of the fox's nose punch, and the way Gibbs in fox form would nudge and rub into his hand. Hesitantly, he reached up and laid his hand on the back of Gibbs' neck again. Gibbs leaned a bit into the touch, and Tony smiled slightly as he started a light massage.

Neither man spoke for a few minutes, then Gibbs said quietly, "I won't forget what you've done for me here, Tony. Means a lot."

Tony shook his head. "You'd have done it for me."

Gibbs nodded. "Still."

Tony inclined his head, then had some of his own coffee, his hand still on Gibbs' neck.

"So," Gibbs said, "what's the verdict?"

"Huh?"

Gibbs laughed softly. "Which is softer? My hair or my fur?"

"Oh." Tony ran his fingers through Gibbs' hair. "Kind of a tie, maybe."

Gibbs grunted, but didn't say anything else.

Tony cleared his throat. "Um… that's not really why I was, uh, touching you, you know."

Gibbs turned to look at Tony.

"Don't get me wrong, Boss… it's just, I think I got used to this. Easier to do when you were a fox, I guess."

Gibbs leaned back into Tony's hand. "S'ok, Tony. I like it."

Tony smiled. "Good."

A short time later, Tony roused himself enough to look around at the sky. "Think we should head back down the mountain? Weather doesn't look so great."

Gibbs looked up. "It's fine… nothing to worry about."

Tony shot him a puzzled look. "How do you know? McGee said the weather up here is dangerously unpredictable."

Gibbs shrugged, looking a little confused himself. "Not sure how I know… just do."

Tony turned to look back at the spruce tree, then shrugged slightly.

Gibbs shook himself, then reached up to lay a hand on Tony's shoulder. "We should probably think about heading out anyway. I can start packing up, if you want to take care of the fire." He stood up, swallowing the last of his coffee.

Tony stared at him. "You think you'll do a better job than I would?"

Gibbs shot a grin at him from over his shoulder. "Well, duh, Tony… I'm a Marine."

Tony smiled at that, then stood, tossing the remnants of his coffee into the fire pit, where it spat noisily. It didn't take long to get ready to leave; Gibbs had everything packed up in less than half the time it had taken Tony. He shouldered the pack, giving Tony a warning look when he protested. "You carried it all the way up. This is the least I can do."

They started walking, then stopped as they drew even with the spruce tree. Gibbs looked up at the tree, his expression unreadable. Tony watched him for a moment, then reached out and laid a hand on the trunk. "Thanks," he said.

The spruce's smaller branches waved slightly, even though there was no breeze at that moment.

Gibbs nodded at the tree, then set off, leading the way back to the Crawford Path.


	9. Chapter 9

_Apologies for the delay... I live in southern New England, and we got hit pretty hard by Superstorm Sandy. I got lucky; only minor property damage and power came back up late Friday afternoon. My town isn't fully restored with electricity yet, and where I work is still shut down at least another day. I have friends who lost their homes... been a difficult time. _

_Thanks to everyone for the reviews and alerts, especially to you guest reviewers! Special thanks go out to gosgirl, Zivacentric, and HidingLight for the support over the past week.  
_

9: Retracing Steps

Gibbs set a fast pace at first, but slowed down the first time Tony slipped while going over some rocks. The sky continued overcast, and the air had a definite chill, but Tony was comfortable as long as they kept moving.

It was late morning when they reached the Crawford Path. There were a few hikers heading up toward the top; it wasn't much further to the tree line. The hikers paused in their argument about the weather to nod and smile in greeting, then continued on their way. Gibbs watched them as they went; Tony watched Gibbs.

"Still feel good about the weather?"

Gibbs looked up at the sky and nodded slowly.

Tony motioned toward the hikers. "We're not that far from the top… seems sort of un-Marine-ish not to go."

Gibbs snorted and shot Tony an annoyed look that had no real bite to it. "Un-Marine-ish?"

Tony grinned. "Well, yeah. What do you want me to call it? FBI-ish?"

Gibbs' lips twitched a little; Tony counted that as a win. Gibbs looked up the path again, shifting his feet a bit and rotating his shoulders to settle the pack more securely. Tony felt a small twinge of concern as he took note of the slightly unhappy look on Gibbs' face.

"You may be right," Gibbs said slowly. "But… if it's all the same to you, I'd just as soon get off this mountain."

"Fine by me, Boss." He hesitated a moment, then plowed on. "Sorta thinking we could come back some day, do this for fun."

"Yeah?"

Tony shrugged. "Yeah, well, this whole hiking thing, it's not so bad, really."

Gibbs turned to face him, smiling. "I'd like that."

Tony grinned and waited for Gibbs to set off, taking up his position on the man's six.

They made their way down the path, and Tony was gratified to see the tension leaving Gibbs' body as they got further down the mountain. They stopped at one point to grab some lunch: more energy bars. Tony sat forward as Gibbs reached for the pack to secure their water bottles after they finished. "Wanna push to get back to the motel tonight?"

Gibbs sighed, and Tony could see man was torn. "It'll be dark well before we get off the trail. Best not."

"Camp where we did on the way up?"

"Sure."

They made it back to their original campsite by late afternoon. Gibbs took over, setting up the tent and telling Tony to just sit back and relax while he got a fire going. Tony watched, noticing the change in the set of Gibbs' shoulders as it got progressively darker and colder.

"I should call Abby, Boss, tell her the good news."

Gibbs nodded. "She'll likely kill you if you keep her in the dark much longer," he commented, with an admirably straight face.

"Hey! Why just me?"

Gibbs smirked at him. "She'll be so thrilled that I'm back to normal – who do you think she'd blame?"

Tony shook his head, a slight smile on his face as Gibbs walked over and sat near him while he pulled out his cell phone.

"Uh oh."

"What uh oh?"

"Dead battery."

"I'll make sure you get a nice funeral."

Tony sighed. "Thanks, Boss. Gonna have to wait until we get back to the car, I guess."

Gibbs shrugged. "Makes you feel any better, Vance will likely ride my ass for not keeping him informed."

Tony wrinkled his nose. "Not really a mental image I wanted to have there, Gibbs."

The head slap was swift and not unexpected.

"Thanks, Boss!" Tony said hurriedly. "I missed those. The paw slaps were just too… cute."

"Cute? Really?"

Tony smiled a bit as he looked into the fire. "Yeah. Cute. You had such tiny feet, Gibbs."

Gibbs shook his head.

Tony looked at him curiously. "What was it like?"

"Being a fox?"

"Yeah."

Gibbs shifted a bit closer to the fire. He poked at it with a stick, then dropped the stick on the ground and stared into the flames. "It was… strange. My eyesight seemed normal, but the sounds and smells… they were intense. Everything was just – off. You were huge."

Tony grinned. "I am taller than you normally, you know."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Uh huh."

"Well, I am."

Gibbs shook his head and got up to go to their pack, digging out some food. "Hungry?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"Sorry, no pizza."

"Don't rub it in."

They were quiet while Gibbs got dinner ready. They didn't speak much while eating either; Tony waited until after Gibbs cleaned up – and didn't that feel strange, having Gibbs wait on him – to resume the conversation.

"Did you like it?"

"Did I like what?"

It was Tony's turn to roll his eyes. "Did you like being a fox?"

Gibbs shrugged. "It was ok, I guess." The side of his mouth twitched as he poked at the fire. "Once I got my bearings, it was sort of funny watching you freak out."

Tony shot him a disgruntled look. "You'd have freaked out too if it had been me. Or Abs."

Gibbs just looked at him, raising his eyebrows.

"Okay, fine… you'd have freaked out in a more productive manner."

Gibbs tilted his head, then shrugged. "Maybe." He stretched, rolling his head from side to side. Tony automatically reached out and started rubbing Gibbs' neck; the older man relaxed into it. "The longer it went on, and the weirder it got, with Abby's ritual and all… the more worried I got that maybe I wouldn't get back to normal."

Tony nodded, his hand moving to one of Gibbs' shoulders and continuing the massage.

"Thing is…" Gibbs hesitated, then shook his head. "I wanted to get back to being human again, and I wanted that tree spirit or whatever it was out of my head."

Tony's hand stopped moving. "It was in your head?"

Gibbs reached up and ran a hand through his hair, grimacing a bit. "Not all the time, and not like it was talking to me or anything… it just… there were dreams." Tony made an encouraging sound, and resumed the neck rub. "I relived that moment of waking up as a fox the first time over and over again," Gibbs said quietly. "It was… disconcerting. And then there was a sort of pull, sometimes… like something was telling me go here, do this…"

"No wonder the leash drove you nuts." Tony squeezed Gibbs' neck. "I'm really sorry about that, Jethro. I should have handled it differently."

Gibbs shook his head and waved one hand aimlessly. "Don't worry about it, Tony. You did what you thought you had to do at the time. Not like we had a manual or something to refer to." He reached over and touched Tony's bandaged hand. "And I shouldn't have done this."

Tony turned his hand over the grabbed Gibbs', squeezing for a moment before letting go. "Don't worry about it… I get why you did."

They were quiet for a while, and then Gibbs spoke up again, surprising Tony. "It wasn't all bad, though."

"How so?"

"Felt… nice, being able to relax sometimes. Play, even."

Tony grinned, remembering the previous morning and chasing Gibbs around the campsite. "Yeah." He glanced over at Gibbs, who didn't seem to know quite what to do with his hands. "I'm gonna miss that."

Gibbs didn't say anything, but he did lean into Tony's touch on his neck, just a little.

"You know, Boss… I think maybe that tree spirit got in my head too."

Gibbs turned and looked directly at Tony. "How so?"

Tony shrugged and dropped his hand from Gibbs' neck. "Can't really say for sure… just, last night, I dreamt about you, a lot. Only they weren't dreams so much as memories… nothing was different about them compared to how it all really happened."

Tony went on to describe the dreams, listing the different scenarios. "It was like something was sifting through my head. Thought it was just the stress of you not turning human right away, but now I'm wondering if maybe it wasn't the spirit… like maybe it was learning about us, about you… deciding whether to turn you back?"

Gibbs looked pained. "Not a pleasant thought."

"No."

Tony stretched and looked around. It was completely dark now, and the temperature was dropping fast. "What do you say, Boss… time to get inside and catch some z's?"

Gibbs sighed and looked at the tent. He nodded, then, and stood, but didn't move for a minute. If Tony had to guess, he'd have said Gibbs looked uncertain, although he'd never seen the man look that way before.

"Jethro."

Gibbs turned to look at him.

"You're going to be human when you wake up in the morning."

Gibbs blinked a few times, then shot Tony a small half-smile. "You sure about that?"

"Yes."

Gibbs tilted his head slightly, moving so much like the fox that Tony felt a small pang of loss.

"Seriously. You were right next to the spirit when you first turned into the fox, and maybe you had to leave the tent this morning because the spirit made you… maybe you had to be close to it for it to turn you back."

Gibbs' eyes narrowed slightly, then his whole body seemed to relax. "You just may be right."

Tony grinned. "You don't have to make that sound like such a miracle, you know. And hey, didn't Abby say something about you having to be close to it when she was explaining about the tree spirit in the first place?"

Gibbs ducked his head. "Okay. Point taken."

They each headed off into the trees in opposite directions; Tony made it back to the tent just as Gibbs was putting out the fire. Gibbs crawled in after him, and they each took only a moment to strip down to appropriate sleep wear. Tony got into the sleeping bag, then turned to look at Gibbs, who looked oddly indecisive again.

"Jethro… remember what I said about having your six no matter what species you are?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah… so?"

"So get in the damn sleeping bag already."

Gibbs stared at him for a moment, then smiled widely, suddenly appearing years younger. "Yes, sir."

Tony rolled his eyes.

It was a large sleeping bag, but still a bit cramped for two men. It took a bit of jostling, but they finally settled on a position that worked, with Tony spooned up behind Gibbs.

"Don't worry, Gibbs, I'll still respect you in the morning."

Gibbs snorted and jabbed Tony in the side with his elbow.

"Hey! Just like that damn pointy fox nose."

"Goodnight, Tony." There was a hint of laughter in Gibbs' voice.

"'night, Gibbs."

If Tony noticed that the sense of loss disappeared as he snuggled a little closer to Gibbs' body heat, he didn't dwell on it.


	10. Chapter 10

_Once again, apologies for the delay… work has taken over my life recently. As always, tremendous thanks for the alerts and reviews, with special thanks going out to the guest reviewers to whom I can't respond directly. Some other special thanks are in order: to blarney and Luvliacd, who made some requests a while back… hope I addressed them well enough! Unbetaed, as usual, so all mistakes are my own. _

10: Heading Home

**Waking Up **

_Gibbs jumped up onto the rock and yipped, waving his tail high in the air. Tony grinned at him, crouched, and made an aborted move forward. Gibbs snorted in derision, leapt off the rock, and took off into the underbrush. Tony followed, laughing, and calling out that it wasn't fair. Gibbs darted under a tangle of brambles and froze, watching as Tony ran past and then slowed, turning in a full circle, eyes searching the forest. _

"_Gibbs! Come on, Boss… where are you?"_

_He didn't see Gibbs in his hiding place; as soon as Tony's back was to him, the fox shot out from under the brambles and jumped, all four feet hitting Tony square in the back. Tony stumbled forward with a surprised shout, while Gibbs pushed off, landed easily on all four feet, and took off running again._

_He slowed down when he realized he couldn't hear any sounds of pursuit. He stopped and turned, sniffing the air, tilting his head and listening carefully. There was no sign of Tony, so he cautiously went back the way he had come, reaching the clearing quickly, only to see Tony sprawled unmoving on the ground. _

_Gibbs' ears pinned back flat against his skull; he ran to Tony's side, soft whines coming from his throat. Had Tony hit his head? Gibbs sniffed at his partner's face, then jumped back when Tony rose suddenly, reaching out and grabbing hold, pulling the fox in close and saying in a sing-song voice, "Two can play at that game, Jethro!"_

_Tony smiled at the canine in his arms; Gibbs gave him a foxy grin in return._

Gibbs made it slowly back to consciousness, feeling a combination of panic and relief. He wasn't sure how to react to that mix of emotions, so he lay perfectly still, using his Marine training to breathe deeply and let his senses bring him back to full awareness. He remembered the dream clearly; it was so vivid that he wasn't entirely sure it was just a dream. He kept his eyes shut, barely admitting to himself that he was half afraid he was a fox again. A small voice in the back of his head pointed out how happy he'd been in the dream, and would it be so awful to be a fox if he had Tony at his six?

He firmly shut that voice down, took a deep breath, and opened his eyes, blinking in the morning light. He ran his tongue over his teeth, and sighed heavily when he didn't feel the sharp points of his canine self. Just to be sure, he moved his arm and grabbed the edge of the sleeping bag, lifting up to look in and see his own very human body lying there.

_Idiot. Of course you're human if you can pick up the sleeping bag._

Lips twitching in amusement at his own stupidity, he relaxed back into the warm nest he was sharing with Tony. They were more or less in the same positions in which they'd fallen asleep; there wasn't much room in there, so moving around would have been difficult anyway. Tony's arm was flung over Gibbs, the lax muscles indicating the younger man was still asleep.

Gibbs let himself doze a bit, enjoying the closeness that he was sure would fade away once they were back in D.C. He felt some regret about that, and made a vague resolution to put forth the effort to keep this new connection with Tony. That got him thinking about Abby; he wished Tony's cell battery had lasted long enough to tell her the good news, as he was sure she was worrying about them. He sighed as the thought nudged him to full alertness; he knew Abby, knew it was likely killing her that she couldn't talk to anyone about this. Somehow he couldn't see her and Vance having a heart to heart about his former predicament.

He stretched and then carefully and reluctantly made his way out of the sleeping bag, glancing back at Tony. His senior field agent was still sleeping soundly, not reacting to Gibbs moving away except to shift over a bit and mumble something incoherent. Gibbs dressed quickly and quietly, then left the tent, zipping the door shut to keep the cold air out, and heading into the bushes to relieve himself.

Returning to the tent, he was tempted to let Tony sleep a little longer, but he really wanted to put Abby out of her misery; he also really wanted to get off this mountain and away from tree spirits. He opened the tent door, ready to call out to Tony to get his butt in gear, but the tent was empty. He blinked, impressed that Tony was able to move that quietly. He straightened and turned, starting visibly when he saw Tony standing only inches behind him.

Tony grinned. "Two can play at that game, Jethro. Figured I owed you one."

Gibbs froze as he remembered Tony's words from the dream. Tony's brow furrowed.

"You okay, Boss?"

Gibbs huffed out a breath. "Yeah. Yeah, Tony, I'm fine… didn't know you could move as silently as that."

Tony smiled happily. "I do pay attention to you, you know."

Gibbs grinned. "I do now. We'll have to test this out later."

Tony's smile turned predatory. "What, you want to play tag in the woods again?"

Gibbs tilted his head and looked at him curiously. "Why do you bring that up?"

Tony shrugged and stepped back, scratching at his head. "Had a pretty cool dream… you were a fox again, we were playing tag like we did the other morning. You snuck up on me, hit me in the back and took off as I went down. I played possum, grabbed you when you came back."

Gibbs stared at him. Tony walked over to their fire put and crouched down, arranging some sticks and taking his lighter out of his pocket, getting them to catch within a few seconds. He glanced back over at Gibbs. "What's wrong?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Tony gave him a look that clearly said he didn't really believe him, then got up and moved toward the tent. "Figured we'd eat and head back down to the car right away, huh? Wanna call Abs as soon as possible."

Gibbs nodded, then scratched at the stubble on his cheek, trying to work it all out in his head. _Coincidence? I don't believe in that, right? What the hell?!_

**Just Desserts**

Breakfast had been quiet. Gibbs hadn't felt much like talking as he tried to puzzle out what to make of their shared dream. Tony didn't know what was bothering his friend, but he knew better than to push. He had faith that Gibbs would tell him if he suddenly experienced foxy feelings. They'd packed up quickly, Gibbs still insisting on carrying the backpack, then made their way down the trail.

Gibbs had kept an eye on the sky the entire way down. When Tony asked why, he just shook his head. "Not sure. Feels like snow, I guess."

Tony looked up at the sky too, as if he could see what Gibbs was feeling. "Snow? Isn't it kind of early for that?"

Gibbs had only shrugged and picked up the pace a bit.

The hike was uneventful the rest of the way, until they reached the parking lot. There were several park rangers there, talking with people, directing them out of lot and away from the trail. One was standing at their rental, looking at the license number and writing something down in a small notebook. Tony and Gibbs exchanged a glance, then headed for him.

"Is there a problem?" Tony asked.

The ranger looked up at them. "This your car?"

They both nodded, and the man broke out into a relieved smile. "Hold on a sec." He grabbed his walkie talkie, pressed a button, and said, "We're all clear here… last hikers accounted for. They just showed up at their car." He listened for an acknowledgment, then hooked the device back on his belt. "Bad storm coming in… looks to dump an awful lot of snow even down here. We're trying to keep people off the mountain." He gestured toward another ranger with a German Shepherd on leash. "We were getting ready to try to track you guys before the storm hit."

Eyes wide, Tony turned to look at Gibbs, who just looked back at him impassively. Tony shook his head. "Long range forecast didn't say anything about snow."

The ranger, whose nameplate read 'Torrence,' shrugged and smiled. "Welcome to the White Mountains. D.C., huh?" He waved toward the license plate.

Tony nodded as he fished in his pocket for the key, hitting the button to unlock it. Gibbs unbuckled the backpack and hoisted it into the backseat as soon as Tony opened the door. "Just up here for a few days to see the sights, you know?"

Torrence nodded. "You've got good timing. Way the weather's shaping up, you could have been stuck up there for several days."

Gibbs was looking back the way they came; his gaze shifted to the ranger. "You got a map of the mountain on you?"

Torrence nodded and pulled a map out of an inner jacket pocket, handing it to Gibbs. Gibbs opened it up, taking only a moment to find the Crawford path, then followed it up and off to the left, pointing at a spot fairly high up the mountain. "Here," he said. "We found a cleanly cut stump, no downed tree. Looks like someone's been doing some illegal logging."

Torrence looked at the map carefully, then nodded. "Yeah, we got some reports of someone hauling logs off the mountain. Staked out the place last week, caught this local guy practically in the act."

Tony stared at him. "He didn't cut down another tree, did he?" He glanced over at Gibbs. "Get a new hobby," he whispered.

Gibbs' lips twitched. "We didn't see any more signs of logging," he said, shooting Tony an amused look.

Torrence shook his head. "Nope. Guy went up, and we were giving him just enough time to get started so we could catch him in the act, and then he comes flying back down the path, screaming about ghosts. Took a long time to get him to calm down; he gave it all up, though, so all the better for us. Funny thing was, I could've sworn he had dark hair going up, but it was shock white when he came back down."

Tony blinked, and Gibbs' eyebrows shot up. "Ghosts, huh?"

Torrence shrugged. "There's always a few people telling stories… more so since that Blair Witch movie came out several years ago."

Gibbs glanced over at Tony, a blank look on his face. Tony just sighed and shook his head. "Creepy. You don't want to know."

There was a sudden volley of barking, and then some yelling. They all turned toward the noise, and saw none other than Angela and Justin over by the ranger with the shepherd. The dog was growling loudly, and the ranger was clearly giving them a severe talking to.

Torrence sighed. "Damn woman. This isn't the first time. Can't keep her hands to herself."

Tony and Gibbs looked at each other, and Tony couldn't help himself; he smirked at Gibbs, who rolled his eyes at him. Torrence caught the look. "Oh, I don't mean it like that… she calls herself an animal lover, but I'm guessing the animals have another name for her. She's always gettin' in their space, can't seem to get it through her thick head that working dogs should be left alone." He sighed. "Too bad she's local."

Angela was shouting back now, and suddenly her hand flew up and she slapped the ranger across the face.

Torrence dropped his head into his hands. "Damn it. Gotta go, guys… hey, if you're heading back south and you start now, you'll likely beat the storm." He gave them a wave, then set off at a run, grabbing his cuffs off his belt. The ranger with the dog was trying to hold the shepherd back; the dog clearly took offense at someone striking his partner. Another ranger had grabbed Angela's arm and twisted it behind her back; she was screaming now, and Justin was getting into it too. Gibbs and Tony watched for a moment while Torrence reached them and quickly cuffed Justin.

"Think we should help out?" Tony asked.

Gibbs shook his head, grinning. "Nah. Glad we saw that, though."

Tony chuckled and headed for the car, making for the driver's seat. Gibbs stared at him. "I'll drive."

Tony shook his head. "No, you won't. I didn't think to bring your wallet."

Gibbs sighed and made for the passenger side.

**Calling Abby**

Tony started up the car, then took a moment to plug in his phone. Both he and Gibbs fastened their seat belts, and then Tony put the car in reverse.

"Thought we were calling Abby," Gibbs protested.

Tony shook his head. "Can't yet, not on my cell. It won't switch on until it powers back up to a certain level."

Gibbs grimaced. "Don't want to make her wait any longer."

Tony nodded. "I hear you. I remember a pay phone outside the diner near the motel we stayed at, figure we can call from there, and then head south. Wanna stop over in Connecticut again, or just drive straight through?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Stop over. Too long a drive to go all the way back."

They were only about ten minutes from the pay phone; Tony pulled in and parked next to it, commenting on the empty parking lot. "Must be a heck of a storm coming."

They got out of the car and went to the phone; Tony dug out an old prepaid calling card. Gibbs looked at it. "That thing still any good?"

Tony nodded before tucking the receiver between his head and shoulder, holding up the card and punching numbers. "Yeah, these things never expire. Always figured it would be good backup to carry one around."

Gibbs watched Tony's face as he finished punching in the numbers; he knew the minute Abby picked up from the way Tony's expression brightened and he turned the receiver away from his ear so Gibbs could listen in. "Hey, Abby."

"Tony! Oh my god, you're okay?! There's like a huge monster storm heading your way, if you're still in New Hampshire. I've been freaking out over here, and McGee's been watching the weather and talking to himself, and whatever you said to him about not bugging me about you guys must have worked, but it's obvious that it's killing him. And Ziva's moping. But, GIBBS! Tell me he's okay, Tony!"

Tony just glanced over at Gibbs, who smirked and said, "I'm fine, Abs."

Tony wasn't quite fast enough; the ear-splitting shriek made them both wince, even as he reached to cover that part of the receiver.

"Gibbs! You're back! I mean, it's not like you ever left, but you're you again! Not that you weren't you, you were just a different you, or a you in a different body… you have to tell me everything!"

Gibbs grinned into the phone. "We will, Abby. Not now, though – we need to head south before the storm hits."

"Yes, of course! Go. Want me to tell the Director that you're you again and that you're coming home?"

"Yeah. Tell McGee and Ziva that the op is over and we'll be back in a couple of days."

"You got it, Bossman! Hug Tony for me, okay? For you, too! And tell Tony to hug you for me! And for him!"

Gibbs reached out and hit the metal piece that disconnected the call. Tony replaced the receiver, and they turned to look at each other for a minute. Then Tony grinned and reached out, pulling Gibbs into a hug. "Welcome back, Jethro."

Gibbs went with it, smiling as he resting his forehead on Tony's shoulder. After a moment, though, he reached up behind Tony's back and gave him a light smack on the head. "Let's get out of here."

They were both smiling as they got back in the car and set off down the road.

**Back in Connecticut**

They made it back to the motel they'd stayed at on the way north by late evening. The storm had hit the mountains well after they'd made it to the southern part of New Hampshire, and they were both glad of it; the news reports weren't good: high winds and heavy snow. Tony had visions of trees coming down on their tent, and decided maybe he was rethinking the hiking thing.

He carried the backpack into their room, dumping it on one of the double beds and then collapsing into the single armchair. Gibbs was in the bathroom; they'd already stopped for dinner on the way and had decided to call it an early night, get back to D.C. in time to meet up with Abby and debrief, as Gibbs put it.

Tony popped into the bathroom as soon as Gibbs came out; he wasn't in there for long, but by the time he emerged, Gibbs was already in one of the beds, hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. Tony watched him as he got under his own covers, leaving the light on for a moment while he decided whether or not to ask what Gibbs was thinking about.

Gibbs decided it for him when he turned his head, looking over at Tony and raising his eyebrows. Tony shot him a small smile. "You okay, Jethro?"

Gibbs nodded, still looking at him.

Tony allowed himself a mental sigh, once again regretting the loss of the fox, just a little. "Pretty impressive, you knowing about the snow before we actually knew about it. They teach that in the Marines?"

Gibbs shifted to look back up at the ceiling, then shook his head slowly. "Always liked the outdoors, but never did have much weather sense, not like some people."

Tony turned onto his side and looked at Gibbs thoughtfully. "Why now? Yesterday you knew the weather was fine to stay on the mountain, today you knew it wasn't."

Gibbs was silent for so long that Tony thought he was going to ignore the question, but then he spoke slowly, as if he was talking it through and puzzling it out at the same time. "I don't know, Tony. I think… maybe it's a holdover from being a fox. I seemed to be able to sense things I couldn't before."

"A foxy instinct, you mean?"

Gibbs nodded, then shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe… maybe it's something the tree spirit gave me."

Tony stared at Gibbs for a long moment, long enough that Gibbs turned to look at him. "Think I'm crazy?"

Tony shook his head. "You were a fox, Gibbs. If you're crazy, we're both insane together. What makes you think it's from the tree spirit, though?"

Gibbs hesitated, then turned onto his side, mirroring Tony's position. Their eyes met for a long time, Gibbs weighting his options and Tony clearly a bit confused but patient. Finally Gibbs seemed to shake himself a little. "Remember that dream you had this morning?"

"Ye-eah…"

"I had the same one."

"Say what?"

Gibbs' lips twitched just a bit. He went on to describe the dream in detail, and Tony felt his heart rate pick up a bit as he remembered everything Gibbs mentioned – except that they'd each had the dream from their own perspectives.

Tony sat up abruptly. "So… you think the dream was – real?"

Gibbs sighed. "I don't know what to think. I do know one thing, though…" His voice trailed off, and he looked uncomfortable.

Tony waited for a moment. "What do you know, Jethro?"

Gibbs' eyes met his again. "I was happy, in that dream. And I remember thinking, when I woke up, that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be a fox again…"

Tony blinked rapidly, sure that Gibbs was leaving something unsaid, and also sure it involved him. He opened his mouth, then closed it as he realized he didn't know what to say. Gibbs gave him one of those ironic half-smiles, and suddenly Tony felt brave. "You think maybe this is the tree spirit's way of saying thank you?"

"Like some sort of a gift, you mean?"

"Yeah, maybe. It was apparently in our heads, right? So it knew how we felt about… stuff."

"Stuff."

Tony grinned. "Yeah, stuff."

Gibbs chuckled. "Maybe."

Tony reached up and switched off the one lamp sitting on the table between the two beds. "Maybe I'll see you in a dream tonight, huh?"

Gibbs answering laugh was reassuring. They both fell silent after that, and it wasn't long before Tony fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

_Second to last chapter! And a sequel planned, just so you know. Unbetaed, so all mistakes are my own; I can't even blame the tree spirits. Special thanks to everyone who has reviewed and alerted on this story, especially the guest reviewers. _

11: Return

**Dreaming, Again**

_They were on the mountain again, near the stump and the tree they'd planted. It was bigger now, and Gibbs laid his hand on the bark. There was a shimmer of light and motion, and the skin of his hand turned warm and took on a slight glow. _

_Tony saw Gibbs abruptly move back from the tree. He took a few steps forward, then stopped as something emerged from the bark._

_The thing that came out of the tree looked like what Gibbs had seen in the dream with the dancing… unnaturally thin, white, elongated face and fingers, looking like some strange combination of plant and person. He tried to back away faster, but his feet seemed glued to the ground. He turned his head and saw Tony standing just a few yards away; he tried to call out to him, but the only sound that emerged was a growl that trailed off into a whine._

_Tony stared as the being that came out of the tree raised an arm toward Gibbs; a bright light ran from the tips of its fingers to Gibbs, enveloping the man in a white glow. Tony tried to shout a warning, but he couldn't make a sound._

_Gibbs struggled against whatever hold the thing had on him, but he couldn't move. He felt his body changing… it didn't hurt, but he could feel himself panicking as he once more took on the shape of the fox. _

_Tony fought to move, to shield Gibbs from whatever the tree spirit was doing, but even as he was able to put one foot in front of the other, he knew it was too late. Gibbs was gone, and the fox was there, ears pinned back, teeth glinting as he snarled at the being who was now pulling him toward the tree. _

_Gibbs fought the pull, but he couldn't stop his forward motion. His feet were dragging along the ground and the spirit and the tree got closer and closer. He turned toward Tony again, saw him running, but knew he wasn't going to get to him in time._

_Tony saw the fear in Gibbs' eyes as the spirit melted back into the trunk. Gibbs was only inches away from it now, and Tony's heart skipped a beat as the fox was pulled against the bark and then into the tree, howling and struggling to get away. He screamed out Gibbs' name –_

"Jethro!"

Tony bolted upright, staring wildly around, and then quickly reached over to turn on the bedside lamp. Gibbs was still stuck in the dream; Tony could see him twitching and sweating. Thanking any deity he could think of that Gibbs was still there, Tony scrambled out of bed and moved quickly to the man's side.

"Jethro – wake up. It's just a dream, you're safe, you're here, you're still human – there's no tree spirit."

Gibbs relaxed as Tony's hand gently gripped his shoulder, and after a moment his eyes blinked open. He stared up at Tony, who stared back.

"Well, hell," Gibbs said, with feeling.

"I second that. I'll add a few other choice words, if it will help."

Gibbs let out a humorless laugh, then closed his eyes. "You had the same dream?"

"If it's the one where we're at the tree and I can't stop the spirit from turning you back into a fox and then pulling you into the tree, yeah."

Gibbs reached up to rub his eyes. "Great."

Tony weighed his options, then sat gingerly on the side of the bed, keeping his hand on Gibbs shoulder. "You're awfully tense, Jethro. Want me to work on you for a minute?"

Gibbs let his hand drop to his side and looked up at him. He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Might help." He flipped over onto his stomach, let his arms rest on the mattress, and closed his eyes.

Tony moved to straddle his partner, then set to work on his shoulders and neck. Gibbs sighed after a few minutes, and Tony could feel him relax. He kept at it until the muscles under his hands were completely pliant, then gradually stopped and moved so that he was sitting on the bed next to Gibbs, his back to the headboard. Gibbs took a deep breath, then turned over, sitting up so he was mirroring Tony's position.

Tony debated with himself, but finally decided to just ask. "You remember what happened in the dream after you, uh, went into the tree?"

Gibbs stared straight ahead for a minute, then moved his hands in an aimless gesture. "I don't think I ended up all the way in. I was fighting pretty hard."

"Ah. Good." They were both quiet for a moment. "Any idea what it all means?" Tony asked.

Gibbs shrugged. "You?"

Tony could tell Gibbs was hoping he'd say no and they'd leave it at that, but he didn't want to go back to sleep and end up in the same dream again because they didn't talk it out. "Could be a few different things." Gibbs tensed a bit, and Tony automatically reached out to rub the man's neck again. "Could be we're both worried about you turning into a fox again, even though the spirit's so far away. Or maybe we shouldn't take it too literally, maybe it means we're worried about losing this, you know, connection that we have now."

Gibbs stretched a bit, but didn't move away from Tony's hand. "Or it's a warning from the tree spirit that it's not done with us yet," he said darkly.

Tony smiled a bit. "They teach you cynicism in the Marines, don't they?"

Gibbs snorted and used his elbow to lightly poke Tony in the side.

"You know, Boss, I'm thinking you picked up some bad habits when you were a fox."

Gibbs smiled a little, and then they were both silent for a while, until Tony cleared his throat and took the plunge. "Do you feel like the dream is coming from us or from it?"

Gibbs shook his head. "I wouldn't know where to begin to tell the difference."

"Yeah." Tony slid his hand from Gibbs' neck. "For what it's worth, Boss… I'm not happy you had to go through all this, but I am happy that we're, um, closer, I guess."

Gibbs turned his head to look at him. "We were close before this, Tony."

Tony reached up to scratch at his head. "Well, yeah, but, I dunno, this is… different." He looked away, feeling his face heat up a bit. "Sorry, Boss, I must be more tired than I thought." He moved to get off the bed and go back to his own, but Gibbs' hand on his arm stopped him.

"Tony… it's okay." Gibbs tugged on him until Tony settled back and relaxed. "You're right, it is different, and I shouldn't have downplayed that. What you did for me… I couldn't be happier with my choice of backup."

Tony smiled a little at that, and looked over at Gibbs to see him looking back seriously.

"Or my choice of a friend."

Tony's smile widened.

"So how about we get some sleep so we're in decent enough shape to drive back to D.C., huh?"

Tony nodded and moved to get up again. Gibbs growled a bit, sounding enough like the fox that Tony turned quickly to look at him.

"Just sleep here, huh? Maybe it'll stop us from picking up where that dream left off."

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Or maybe we'll have a better dream?" he ventured.

"Yeah, maybe that too."

Tony reached over and switched off the light, then crawled under the covers that Gibbs held up for him. They lay there quietly, not touching, until Tony spoke again, his voice tentative. "You remember what I said, back when you were still a fox, about if maybe Abby and them are right about what I feel? You know, about… stuff?"

Gibbs chuckled and reached out to pull Tony closer. "Yeah, Tony, I remember."

Tony settled against him and relaxed. "Oh. Okay. Well, good."

"Get some sleep. You've got to do all the driving tomorrow, since you're the only one with a license."

Tony yawned and moved a bit closer. "'kay. But we should talk about that sometime, Boss."

"Whatever you say, Tony."

**The Director**

There were no more shared dreams that night. They were up and on the road by 7 a.m., stopping only for gas and food as needed, and made it back to the Navy Yard by mid-afternoon. Tony parked the rental in the underground garage, and they headed for the security check point.

"Good to see you back, Tony," Hank smiled as Tony passed through the metal detector. He nodded to Gibbs. "Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs moved through the detector, then stopped and stared at Hank, who began fidgeting. "Um… sir?"

"Don't call me sir," Gibbs growled. He reached out and very deliberately poked Hank hard on the shoulder with one finger, after which he smirked and strode off toward the elevator. Hank reached up to rub at his shoulder and stared wide-eyed at Tony. "What…?!"

Tony shrugged and gave Hank a disarming smile. "We're just back from undercover… he's slow to readjust."

Hank gave Tony a quick visual scan, taking in the flannel-lined shirt, jeans, and hiking boots. "Ah, okay. Gotcha."

Tony clapped Hank on the same shoulder, making him wince a bit, before he jogged after Gibbs, who was waiting impatiently at the elevator.

They walked purposefully through the bullpen; a sweeping glance showed Tony that all of their desks were neatly cleared of paperwork and there was no sign of either Ziva or McGee being around. Gibbs quick-marched up the stairs, with Tony just behind and to the right, and they breezed past the Director's assistant and through the open door to Vance's office.

Vance was standing in front of his desk watching a report on ZNN on the plasma. He shut it off as soon as the agents walked in and moved forward a few steps, looking Gibbs over carefully. "It's done?"

Gibbs' eyebrows shot up. "I look like a fox to you?"

Tony rolled his eyes and doubled back to close the office door. "What he means to say, Director, is yes, it's over."

Vance shot Tony an amused look, then brought his gaze back to Gibbs. "Any chance of it happening again?"

Gibbs shook his head, then shrugged. "Abby said I had to be very close to the tree spirit for it to change me. Long as I don't buy any more haunted wood, there shouldn't be a problem."

Vance relaxed his stance a bit, then fished around in his jacket pocket, pulling out a toothpick. "Any chance we can get you to find a new hobby?"

Tony grinned at that one. "I already gave him that suggestion. Don't think it will take." Vance's gaze shifted over to Tony, but the Director remained silent. "Uh, sir."

Vance's lips twitched slightly, then he looked back at Gibbs. "You need any down time?"

Gibbs shook his head. "We'd like to get right back to work."

Vance nodded. "I'll get McGee and David reassigned to you effective immediately… they'll just need to wrap up whatever they've got going on, but neither has an active case right now, so they should be back to you within the hour."

Tension melted away from Gibbs' shoulders. "Thanks, Leon."

Vance nodded. "Someday you'll have to tell me what it was like."

Gibbs grimaced. "You bringin' the bourbon?"

Tony looked at him, surprised.

Vance stared at Gibbs, meeting his eyes for a long moment. He nodded. "Go see Ms. Scuito; she's only called up here about five times today to find out if you're back yet. Then give me something I can show SecNav if he wants to know what two of my best agents were doing in the White Mountains."

Gibbs nodded, then turned and headed for the door. Tony followed, glancing between the two men.

**Abby's Lab**

Abby was pacing and muttering to herself when they walked into the lab. She looked up, and Tony would have sworn her smile lit up the room.

"Gibbs!" She ran forward, throwing herself at Gibbs, who managed to catch her and stay on his feet. He hugged her tightly, and she grinned at Tony over Gibbs' shoulder as she returned the favor. "Finally! You're back! I mean, you're human and you're here."

Gibbs set her back down on her feet. She stared at him for a moment, her eyes searching his, and then she reached up and planted a kiss on his cheek. After that, she launched herself at Tony, giving him much the same treatment. Tony laughed and planted a kiss on her forehead as he set her down. She looked between the two of them, then reached out with both hands, grabbed their arms, and hustled them into the inner office, closing the door behind her.

"So, it worked? It was the ritual that did it, right?"

Gibbs and Tony exchanged glances, and Tony moved forward to wipe the lipstick off of Gibbs' cheek while he spoke. "I think so."

Abby watched Tony lick his fingers to get the last of the lipstick off Gibbs' face. "I see things are moving along with you two."

Tony shot her a look, and Gibbs rolled his eyes. Abby frowned suddenly, crossing her arms. "Wait… what do you mean, you think so?"

Tony looked at Gibbs again, and got a small shrug in return. Taking that for the permission it was, he explained. "We planted the seedling and did the ritual just like you said… but nothing happened until the next morning."

Gibbs picked up the story. "The seedling grew into a much larger tree overnight, and I turned back to human after that."

Abby's arms fell to her side and she leaned back against her desk. "Wow. The spirit's power may somehow be proportional to its physical link to this world, which is the tree…" Her eyes grew abstracted and she began muttering to herself.

The two men exchanged slightly alarmed glances. "Uh, it might be more complicated than that," Tony said.

"How so?"

Tony explained the dreams he had that night, and the feeling that someone was investigating his memories and perceptions of Gibbs. "You think maybe it was judging Gibbs, deciding whether to turn him back?"

Abby thought it over. "Maybe? Or maybe it was just curious about you guys? I don't know enough."

Tony looked over at Gibbs, eyes questioning. Gibbs grimaced a bit, then shrugged again. Tony nodded and looked over at Abby, who was smiling at them. "What?"

"It's just, it's so cool how you guys are connected. I mean, you just had an entire conversation and neither of you said a word."

Tony smirked a bit. "I've got more practice in now, since he couldn't talk as a fox."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "We were doing this before the spirit came along, Tony."

Abby clapped her hands together. "This is so great! You guys have definitely come a long way on this trip."

Tony tried to get the conversation back on track. "Abs… we think maybe the spirit is still influencing us somehow."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We're sharing dreams… two nights in a row now. Same dream, same details, but we're each having the dreams from our own perspectives. It's a little… disconcerting." Tony looked at Gibbs, who just looked back.

"Are these good dreams or bad dreams?"

Gibbs fielded that one. "Both. The first one was – nice. The second, not so much."

"Was the first one a sex dream?"

""ABBY!""

"Cool, stereo sound!" Abby grinned at them, completely unrepentant. "I don't know if the spirit could influence your minds from so far away."

Gibbs looked uncomfortable. "You think I'm carrying it around in my head?"

Abby shook her head quickly. "No, nothing like that. It can't be in two places at once, and it's still a single being, even if it's not entirely of this plane. I can try to look into it, though, see what you might be dealing with, if you want."

They looked at each other, then Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, Abs. When you have time."

"I'll get right on it." She looked at him seriously for a moment, then trotted forward and pulled him into another hug. "I'm so glad you're back, Gibbs!"

Gibbs returned the hug again, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "Me too, Abs. Thanks."

She stepped back and watched him as he set off out of the lab. "Tony."

He stopped his forward motion and turned to look at her. "Yeah, Abs?"

Abby moved quickly to hug him again. "I didn't want to say it in front of him, but I'm gonna miss the fox, a little."

Tony smiled gently. "Yeah… me too." He pulled back and patted her shoulder, then ran to catch up with Gibbs. "Let's do dinner soon, Abby!"

Abby followed them far enough to see Tony reach out and lay a hand on Gibbs' arm while they waited for the elevator. "Awesome," she whispered happily.

**Truth**

Tony and Gibbs both settled at their desks and started to put their reports together. They'd spent much of the drive south hashing out a story that could measure up to scrutiny, so Tony found it easy to begin putting it together on paper.

Gibbs, however, was uncharacteristically unfocused. Tony kept an eye on him while he worked on his own report; Gibbs alternated working on his report with poking through some files he'd taken out of a drawer or simply staring off into space.

Less than an hour after they'd sat at their desks, the rest of their team showed up. Ziva was first, greeting them quietly, stowing her bag under her desk and watching them both while ostensibly reviewing the reports on their last case. McGee arrived soon afterwards, moving quickly. "Good to have you back, Boss. You too, Tony."

Then it was business as usual, except for the slight tension and unnatural silence. Finally, after one more five-minute staring session, Gibbs abruptly pushed his chair back and announced he was going for coffee. He met Tony's eyes on the way out, giving him an almost unnoticeable shrug and half smile, which allowed Tony to relax a bit. The three agents continued to work in silence for a while, until the senior field agent steeled himself and rose to file a few papers, which, as expected, galvanized his team members into action.

Ziva was the first to approach him. "The rugged, manly look is a good one on you, Tony."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I'm always manly, and any look is good on me, Zee-vah."

She leaned against the file cabinet, forcing McGee to dodge around her on his own approach. "So," she purred, "are you going to finally explain what you two were up to?"

"About nine thousand feet," Tony commented, focusing on his filing.

Ziva stood up straight, dropping the act. "Are we not a team, Tony?"

Tony looked at her, pushing the drawer shut. "Of course we are, Ziva. I'm following orders… remember what that's like? Need to know. You didn't, and you still don't."

McGee cleared his throat. "Looks like you did well with the hiking and camping."

Tony turned to him and smiled. "Thanks to you, McScout! I owe you an opportunity to try to beat me at your latest favorite cyber-obsession."

McGee returned the smile. "You're going down."

"Well, duh."

Ziva wasn't about to let it go. "McGee said Gibbs' life was in danger."

Tony shot McGee a look. "I take it back. Game's off."

McGee's face fell. "C'mon, Tony! I told you I'd talk to Ziva about backing off. How else was I supposed to get her to take me seriously?"

Tony tilted his head to one side, considering that. "Okay. Game's on."

McGee grinned.

Tony turned back to his desk, seating himself to continue working on his report. Ziva moved in close and leaned over, trying to read over his shoulder; Tony's hand shot out and switched off the monitor. She growled in exasperation while Tony glared at her.

"Ziva…" McGee said, hesitantly.

"I do not like being left out of the circle, McGee! If we are a team, we should work together all of the time, not just sometimes!"

Tony sighed. "Loop."

"What?"

"Not a circle, a loop. Left out of the loop. I could have sworn I taught you that one already."

Ziva glared at him. "That is not important. In Mossad, we did not keep such secrets."

Both men stared at her, eyes wide. "Uh, Ziva," McGee began.

Ziva shook her head, waving one hand in his direction. "All right, I admit, that was a poor example." She focused on Tony. "Can you at least tell us if we have to worry about someone coming after Gibbs? Or you?"

Tony shook his head. "It's over."

"Are you sure?" McGee looked worried.

Tony sighed and looked up at them. The concern on both their parts and the hurt on Ziva's was genuine. "Alright. I'm only going to go through this once." He glanced around the room, and the others leaned in close automatically. He then spoke in a loud whisper.

"An angry tree spirit that was living in the wood Gibbs was using to make his latest boat turned him into a fox. The only way to get him back to human again was for us to bring the spirit back to the White Mountains, which we did. We planted a tree for it to live in, and it made Gibbs human again as a thank you."

He stared seriously at Ziva and McGee, who stared back. McGee clearly didn't believe him, while Ziva was just angry. "I cannot believe that you would tell such a silly story. You must know that it will not make us stop asking questions!"

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but it was Gibbs' voice they all heard.

"Tony saved my life on that mountain."

They all straightened up to see Gibbs standing there, two coffee cups in his hands, looking at them seriously. "That's all you need to know."

He set one of the cups down on Tony's desk, met Tony's eyes for a moment, then moved toward his own desk. All three agents stared after him for a moment. Then McGee reached out to clasp Tony's shoulder and smile at him before heading back to his own desk. "Glad you're both back," was all he said.

Ziva blinked and looked at Tony seriously, then offered him a small smile. She nodded once, then followed suit and went back to work.

Tony reached out and grabbed his coffee, removing the lid and smelling the hazelnut creamer. He smiled and took a sip; it was perfect. He looked over at Gibbs, who was looking back at him. Gibbs raised his cup in a silent toast; Tony mimicked the action and they each took a sip, gazes still connected, before getting back to work.


	12. Chapter 12

_Here we go, last chapter in the first story of what I may have to call my FoxVerse. Thanks so much for all the support, especially to those of you who weren't sure about a supernatural theme but went with it anyway. __ Also tremendous thanks to all the guest reviewers! And a special shout out to gosgirl for the email discussions and the bouncing of ideas and bunnies back and forth across the pond. _

12: Resolutions

Tony stretched and switched off the television, frowning as he looked at the clock. It wasn't even 11 – no way he'd be able to sleep yet.

He sighed and got up off the couch, wandering into the kitchen to open the refrigerator and stare into it. There wasn't much food, just like there hadn't been the last two times he'd looked in there. He hadn't shopped since several days before Gibbs' transformation, and he'd had quite a bit of stinky ex-food to toss when he'd gotten home earlier in the evening. There were the remains of the pizza he'd picked up on the way home, but he didn't really want any more of that.

Nudging the door shut, he returned to the living room and sat down on the couch again. Friday night TV kinda sucked, and he didn't feel like ignoring a good movie, so he grabbed the remote to his stereo and flipped that on, settling for a jazz station and hoping it might help him relax.

_We should have timed this better… getting back just before the weekend isn't gonna help Gibbs. At least we're on call._

The rest of the afternoon in the bullpen had gone better after Gibbs' startling announcement. McGee had seemed happy to let the subject of their real mission drop, and Ziva had clearly been resigned to letting it go, at least for now. Tony had decided if she brought it up again, he'd just tell her to see Vance. He'd also decided that just maybe he'd fallen a bit more for Gibbs after he'd told the team what Tony had done _and_ brought him coffee.

And that was the biggest and possibly most important event of the rest of the day – he'd finally admitted to himself what he'd really known all along… that Abby and McGee and Vance and probably the rest of NCIS were right, and Tony did have feelings for Gibbs that went way beyond what he had for colleagues, friends, and hell, even family. Then again, given his father, that wasn't too difficult.

_So now what?_

Tony shrugged to himself. It wasn't like he could make a decision about… stuff… by himself. _It does take two, right? Gibbs seems okay with it, so I guess we'll talk about it eventually._

Gibbs. Tony missed him, missed the connection, missed watching the man across the bullpen, missed the fox and physical closeness that was somehow sanctioned because they were different species. Sort of. Abby seemed to think Gibbs wasn't a real fox, just a human in fox shape.

Tony's mind wandered back to Gibbs in the bullpen. They'd both stayed later than the rest of the team, working on the fake reports that Vance deemed necessary. Tony wasn't sure why SecNav would bother to look into two agents' trip to New Hampshire, but it seemed as though Jarvis was trying to keep Vance off balance, so maybe it was best to have all the i's dotted and t's crossed.

Tony hadn't seen Gibbs so unfocused and off-balance in a long time… not since Ari and Kate, even though it wasn't really the same thing. _Man needs a nice double homicide to take his mind off everything._ Tony grimaced at the realization that he was wishing death on two potentially innocent people, then reached up and gave himself a head slap. "That's for you, Boss," he muttered.

His cell phone rang, and Tony sat up quickly, trying to remember where he'd put it. The ringtone, an Android Lust song, told him it was Abby, and he ignored the tiny pang of disappointment that it wasn't Gibbs. He leaned over, reaching for the end table, and grabbed his phone.

"Hey, Abs."

"_Tony! Is Gibbs there?"_

"No. Why would he be here?"

"_Um, no reason. Just thought maybe you guys would be spending the weekend together."_

Tony sighed, smiling slightly. "Take it down a notch, Abby. We're not… we haven't… whatever. We're still who we've been."

"_Gotta disagree with you there. I know what I saw."_

Tony sat up a little straighter. "What do you think you saw? We didn't ravish each other or anything. I think I'd remember that."

"_Nothing so crass. Gibbs is too classy for that."_

"Classy?! The man shops at Sears."

"_Not wardrobe classy. Look, never mind. You guys will figure it out."_

"Uh, thanks, I think."

"_So, Tony, I called because I talked to my friend… the one who might be able to tell you what's going on with the dreams. He thinks he can help, but he can't until next week at the earliest 'cause he's in Canada right now."_

"Yeah? What is he, some sort of dream expert?"

"_Not necessarily, but he's Native American, Abenaki tribe, and a shaman. So if anyone can help, he can."_

Tony grinned. "I'm trying to picture Gibbs working with a shaman."

"_Tony! Gibbs is respectful of other cultures." _

"I can hear the smile in your voice. He may be respectful, but it'll be an impatient respect." Tony heard a quiet knock at the door. "Abs, someone's at the door, I gotta go."

"_Bet it's Gibbs."_

"Why would Gibbs be here?"

"_Just don't sabotage anything, Tony."_

"Wait, what? Abby? She hung up." Tony stared at the phone in his hand, then shrugged and got up, heading for the door just as another knock sounded, this one a little louder. He checked through the peephole in the door, and Abby was right – it was Gibbs.

Tony opened the door, and the two men just stared at each other for a moment. Gibbs was still in the same clothes he'd worn earlier in the day, jeans, hiking boots, and a flannel shirt. Tony thought he looked pretty good.

Gibbs shifted his feet a bit. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah, of course." Tony backed up and opened the door wider, looking down at his beeping phone while Gibbs walked past him. He hit a few buttons as he closed and locked the door; it was a text from Abby.

_It is Gibbs, isn't it?_

Tony sighed and answered quickly. _Yes. Go away._

The phone beeped again. _LOL! Have fun!_

Tony looked up to see Gibbs standing in the living room, looking a bit awkward. Frowning, he followed, setting the phone back on the end table after switching it to silent. "You okay, Boss?"

Gibbs looked over at Tony, then reached up to rub at the back of his head, a gesture that told Tony Gibbs wasn't okay.

"I've got some pizza, if you want."

Gibbs shook his head. "Not hungry."

Tony looked him over carefully, then took a chance. "You're not okay, Gibbs."

Gibbs sighed and his shoulders sagged a bit. Tony moved forward to stand a couple of feet in front of him, then tentatively reached out to put a hand on his arm. "Sit down. You want a beer?"

Gibbs shook his head slowly, then moved to sit at one end of the couch. Tony followed suit, sitting in the middle, facing Gibbs with one leg bent and resting on the cushion. "What's up, Jethro?"

Gibbs huffed out a breath, then turned to face Tony, a small, self-deprecating quirk of his lips giving Tony a heads up that whatever this was, it was big. The older man reached up and ran a hand over his face, then let that hand fall into his lap and stared at the floor.

"Figured I'd relax after I got home, go down into the basement, get back to work on the boat… couldn't do it."

Tony's brow furrowed. "Couldn't work on the boat?"

Gibbs shook head again. "Couldn't go downstairs."

Eyes, wide, Tony sat forward a bit. "But your basement… I mean, you live down there."

"Maybe not anymore."

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure. Wasn't thinking anything of it until I opened the door, flipped on the light, and then – just couldn't make myself take that first step down the stairs."

Tony chewed on his lip for a moment. "Did you sense another spirit or something?"

Gibbs shrugged. "I don't think so. Not like I ever knew that one was there."

"What can I do?"

Gibbs raised his head and looked Tony in the eye. "Honestly? I don't know." He fell silent, his eyes searching Tony's. Tony didn't know what Gibbs was looking for, so he just met his gaze and waited. Gibbs shifted on the couch, clearly at a loss for what to say.

Tony scooted forward a few inches. "Turn around," he instructed.

Gibbs raised his eyebrows, but followed the order, sitting so he was facing away from the younger man. Tony reached up and began a shoulder and neck rub; Gibbs relaxed immediately.

Neither man spoke for a while. They listened to the music that quietly filled the room, until eventually Gibbs shifted away from Tony's hands. "Thanks. That helped."

"Anytime, Jethro," Tony said quietly.

Gibbs sat back on the couch, then reached out and gently took Tony's hand. "The whole time I was a fox," he said, "I knew you'd do everything you could to get me back. Never once doubted you had my six."

Tony made a face. "I started off complaining." He squeezed Gibbs' hand as he said it.

Gibbs chuckled. "That's just what you do, DiNozzo. I figured it for a front years ago."

Tony smiled at that. "Yeah, well."

The smile faded from Gibbs' face. "On that mountain… I didn't lose confidence that you'd succeed until that last night, before the tree spirit turned me back. If you hadn't been there with me then…"

Tony let go of Gibbs' hand and reached out to pull the man into a hug. He didn't say anything, and after a moment Gibbs relaxed and his arms went around Tony, hugging him back.

Tony cleared his throat and backed away, not wanting to push his luck. "Meant what I said, Boss. I've got your six, no matter what species you are."

Gibbs nodded. "I know. It's what kept me there. I've always relied on you, Tony, but it's more than that now. You've become…" His voice trailed off, and Tony was surprised to see his face turn slightly red. Gibbs cleared his throat, his eyes darting around the room. "You've become an anchor, of sorts. My anchor. And I'm not sure I know how to handle that."

Tony's mind raced as he tried to choose his next words. "You've been my anchor for years, Boss. It's not so bad."

Gibbs looked at him and smiled. "No, it's not. Just don't want to screw it up."

"Screw what up?"

Gibbs' eyes met Tony's again; he reached out and let his fingertips trace the lines of Tony's face, up through his hair, and then to the back of his neck. Tony froze, barely breathing, as Gibbs leaned forward and ever so gently touched Tony's lips with his own, then backed away almost before Tony could process what it felt like.

"That. Among other things."

Tony swallowed hard. "Is this where we talk about… stuff?"

Gibbs tilted his head to one side.

"You remind me of the fox when you do that," Tony blurted out.

Gibbs smiled slightly. "You miss me being a fox. You and Abby."

Tony's eyes widened. "Um, well, we, uh..."

"It's okay, Tony. I get it. I'm not very good at letting people get close as a human."

Tony blinked. "Do you want to?"

"You? Yeah."

"In a, uh, stuff kind of way?"

Gibbs stared at Tony, then suddenly broke out laughing. "You sound like a kid in junior high."

Tony grinned. "Well, it's kinda weird to talk about you and me in a romantic context."

Gibbs nodded. "I'll give you that one." He looked at Tony speculatively. "You been with a guy before?"

Tony shook his head. "You?"

"No." Gibbs moved his arm to the back of the couch, propping his head up as he looked at Tony seriously. "Not sure it matters much. A good relationship is built on trust, having things in common, shared experiences. The rest happens naturally."

Tony moved to mirror Gibbs' position. "Did you know how I felt?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Suspected. Wasn't sure what I wanted to do about it, if anything. Our friendship's too important to screw things up. And now…" His voice trailed off as his lips twitched. "Now I want to investigate this, see what it is. But it's complicated."

"You're my boss."

"Not that so much. These dreams, what that spirit did… how do I know this is real?"

Tony considered that. "You think the tree spirit is making us feel things?"

"Not you. Me? Not sure."

"I get that."

Gibbs' eyes narrowed. "Do you? 'Cause I don't. I'm finally thinking I can let someone in, let _you_ in, and now I can't trust it because I don't know if that damn spirit is messing with my head."

Tony reached out with his free hand, laying it on Gibbs' leg for a moment, calming the other man down. "Try to look at the positive, Jethro. If that spirit hadn't ended up in your basement, hadn't turned you into a fox, odds are we wouldn't be closer, I wouldn't have acknowledged how I felt, and you wouldn't be considering, well, us."

Gibbs sighed and reached up to rub at his eyes. "I'm tired," he grumbled.

Tony sat up a bit. "Stay here tonight. Stay the whole weekend if you want. We can go to your house, try the basement, get you back to working on the boat." He smiled as he saw Gibbs relax again. "Abby called just before you got here. Her friend thinks he can help."

"He's dealt with these spirits before?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't know about that… but Abby says he's a Native American shaman, so he knows more than we do." He caught the flash of relief in Gibbs' eyes. "He's in Canada now, but Abby says he'll be back in a week or so."

"Sounds good." His brow furrowed a bit. "A shaman, huh?"

Tony grinned and pushed off the couch to get to his feet. "Yeah. Suck it up, Marine." He reached out and took Gibbs' hand, helping the other man up. "Come on, let's get some sleep." He glanced at the couch. "We can share the bed again, if you want."

Gibbs' eyes searched Tony's and then he nodded. "Yeah."

They headed for the bedroom, Tony grabbing his phone as he shut off the light in the living room. They were on call, so rule three definitely applied.

They took turns in the bathroom; Tony got in bed first, and waited until Gibbs joined him before turning out the light. There was no hesitation this time as Tony turned toward Gibbs, spooning up behind him and laying his arm over Gibbs' side. He pressed a kiss to the other man's hair. "Night, Jethro."

"Night, Tony."

They were silent for a while, and Tony was just drifting off to sleep when Gibbs' spoke. "This is why I missed being the fox," he said quietly.

Tony's arm tightened around him. "Don't have to miss it anymore, no matter what happens between us."

Gibbs' hand found Tony's, lacing their fingers together. "Glad to hear it."

They fell asleep soon after, Gibbs' head tucked under Tony's chin. The dream they shared that night had them back on the mountain, curled up in the tent, fox and man together looking up through a transparent roof at the tree branches swaying above them and the stars beyond.

END

_Author's Note: The sequel will be forthcoming after a detour back to the FIOverse… look for Silver Fox Fallout, which will deal with Gibbs trying to handle the aftermath of his transformation and the changes to his relationship with Tony. And yes, it will most likely be much slashier._


End file.
